s~.iy.ir. 


0f  ttw  ®beo%tW| 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 


L All  41 


■ L 67 


Section 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/educationalconquOOIewi 


The  Educational  Conquest 
of  the  Far  East 


NAN  YANG  COLLEGE,  SHANGHAI. 


The  Educational  Conquest 


of  the  Far  East 


By 

ROBERT  E.  LEWIS,  M.  A. 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 
(April) 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  30  St.  Mary  Street 


To 

My  Mother 


Introductions 


I HAVE  read  with  very  great  interest  what 
Mr.  Lewis  has  written.  His  aim  is  to  pre- 
sent a complete  survey  of  State  education  in 
Japan;  and  in  my  judgment  he  has  accomplished 
his  purpose  admirably. 

Mr.  Lewis  has  not  only  consulted  all  govern- 
ment reports  and  publications  as  well  as  numer- 
ous works  bearing  on  the  subject,  but  he  has  also 
spent  several  months  in  the  country,  visiting  its 
principal  seats  of  learning  and  holding  interviews 
with  both  prominent  educators  and  students. 
And  the  result  is  a most  clear,  concise  and  com- 
prehensive account  of  the  subject.  So  far  as  I 
am  aware  there  is  no  other  work  in  the  English 
language  that  gives  such  a thorough  and  lucid 
statement  of  what  has  been  done  and  is  being 
done  by  the  State  for  the  development  and  ele- 
vation of  the  people. 

I most  earnestly  recommend  the  book  to  the 
thoughtful  attention  of  the  reader,  firmly  be- 
lieving that  he  will  be  amply  rewarded  by  a 
careful  perusal  of  it. 

Kojinosuke  Ibuka. 

Meiji  Gakuin,  Tokio. 

It  would  seem  that  a subject  so  important  in  a 
country  so  much  written  about  would  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  many  men.  It  is  all 
7 


8 


Introductions 


the  more  surprising,  therefore,  to  note  the  com- 
parative silence  of  such  exhaustive  writers  as  Drs. 
Griffis  and  Rein.  No  one,  so  far  as  I know,  has 
given  to  the  public  so  critical  and  comprehensive 
a statement  of  the  subject  as  has  Mr.  Lewis  in 
this  monograph.  Numbers  of  able  men  have 
given  their  strength  to  the  working  out  of  the 
problems  of  modern  education  in  Japan.  The 
silent  and  steady  growth  of  the  system  has  been 
reflected  from  time  to  time  in  the  press,  in  public 
lectures  and  in  the  discussions  of  Parliament. 
But  nowhere,  I believe,  will  the  results  be 
found  so  carefully  collected  and  so  fully  elabor- 
ated as  in  Mr.  Lewis’s  work.  He  has  placed 
many  a resident  in  Japan  under  obligations  to 
him  for  his  painstaking  investigations,  and  his 
work  is  to  be  recommended  to  any  person  de- 
sirous of  making  a thorough  study  of  the  actual 
condition  of  affairs  in  Japan  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  present  volume  may 
be  followed  by  another  from  Mr.  Lewis  treating 
of  the  private  schools  of  Japan  and  dealing  with 
the  problems  of  Christian  education. 

R.  S.  Miller. 

United  States  Legation,  Tokio. 


It  has  long  been  evident  to  intelligent  observers 
that  a crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  most  ancient  and 
the  most  numerous  people  on  the  globe  was  ap- 
proaching. The  events  at  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth and  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  centuries 
make  it  plain  that  it  has  actually  arrived.  The 


Introductions 


9 


civilized  world  is  confronted  with  the  most 
stupendous  and  the  most  difficult  problem  which 
it  has  ever  faced.  We  have  in  a sense  the  whole 
Chinese  people  upon  our  hands,  with  problems 
the  complexity  of  which  appears  greater  as  they 
are  considered  longer.  It  is  evident  that  nothing 
but  intellectual  and  moral  forces  will  avail  to 
change  in  any  material  degree  the  modes  of 
thought,  and  especially  the  mode  of  life  of  those 
who  have  been  nourished  in  a venerable  and 
profoundly  influential  Confucianism.  It  is  not 
enough  to  point  out  its  defects;  we  must  so  pre- 
sent what  we  have  to  offer  that  this  unwelcome 
task  shall  accomplish  itself.  The  magnitude  of 
the  undertaking  will  be  better  appreciated  by 
those  who  have  studied  the  interesting  presenta- 
tion of  it  by  Mr.  Lewis,  whose  opinions  are  in 
the  line  of  the  best  thought  of  the  soundest 
thinkers  on  the  subject.  It  is  greatly  to  be 
hoped  that  his  book  will  have  not  only  a wide 
reading,  especially  by  the  students  and  young 
people  of  English-speaking  lands,  but  that  it  may 
lead  some  of  them  to  wish  to  invest  their  life  in- 
fluence where  it  may  be  potentially  efficient,  pos- 
sibly on  a great  scale  and  for  long  periods  of 
time.  The  Occident  is  now  most  literally  the 
Neighbor  of  the  Far  East.  Whether  we  will  or 
not,  we  are  compelled  to  take  account  of  its 
heredities,  its  education,  and  its  present  condi- 
tions. 

According  to  a Chinese  proverb  “He  who 
knows  himself  and  also  knows  his  opponent,  in 


io 


Introductions 


a thousand  contests  will  win  a thousand  vic- 
tories.” It  is  the  object  of  this  book  to  put  the 
reader  in  a position  thus  to  become  a future  ad- 
jutant in  the  great  intellectual  and  moral  struggle 
for  supremacy  between  the  East  and  the  West, 
which  seems  likely  to  fill  so  large  a part  of  the 
century  upon  which  we  have  lately  entered. 

Arthur  H.  Smith. 

P'ang  Chuang,  Shantung. 


Preface 


IN  these  pages  a conscientious  attempt  is 
made  to  exhibit  the  growth  and  present  status 
of  education  in  the  Far  East,  and  to  draw 
attention  to  its  problems  and  possibilities.  The 
educational  conquest  described  began  about  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  is  as  yet 
far  from  completed.  The  methods  of  campaign 
employed  by  the  West  against  the  East  may  be 
briefly  described  as  conquest  by  arms,  by  ma- 
chines, by  church  and  by  school.  It  is  with  the 
conquest  of  ideas,  of  mind  over  mind  that  we 
have  to  do.  The  chief  sources  of  information 
have  been  personal  investigations  at  the  leading 
Japanese  seats  of  learning,  visitation  of  the  fifty 
high  schools  and  colleges  in  China  and  inter- 
views with  over  two  hundred  government  and 
missionary  educators,  native  and  foreign. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  American  Minister  to 
Japan  the  facts  contained  in  a portion  of  this 
volume  were  first  prepared  for  the  State  Depart- 
ment in  Washington,  and  having  been  translated 
into  Chinese,  are  now  being  circulated  for  the 
information  of  the  officials  of  China. 

The  time  has  not  yet  arrived  for  an  adequate 
discussion  of  the  problems  and  forces  involved 
in  the  educational  conquest  of  the  Philippines. 
ii 


12 


Preface 


My  sincere  appreciation  is  due  to  Dr.  Arthur  H. 
Smith  of  China,  to  Mr.  Ransford  S.  Miller  of  the 
American  Legation,  Tokio,  and  to  President  K. 
Ibuka  of  the  Meiji  Gakuin,  Tokio,  for  examining 
the  manuscript,  and  for  their  most  helpful  sug- 
gestions. My  indebtedness  is  gratefully  ac- 
knowledged to  educators  in  many  parts  of  Japan 
and  China  who  have  helped  me  to  verify  facts 
and  trace  out  sources. 

I have  been  able  in  many  cases  to  settle  con- 
victions and  buttress  statements  by  reference  to 
general  works  and  current  literature,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  accompanying  bibliography  may 
guide  others  to  an  extended  reading  upon  eastern 
educational  subjects.  Several  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese publications  of  the  greatest  importance  have 
been  specially  translated  for  use  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  volume,  but  the  quotations  from  the 
Chinese  classics  have  been  taken  from  the  stand- 
ard renderings  of  Drs.  James  Legge,  H.  A. 
Giles  and  E.  Faber,  while  the  North  China  Daily 
News  has  been  freely  drawn  on  for  copies  of 
Imperial  Edicts.  Wade’s  standard  system  has 
been  followed  in  converting  Chinese  words  into 
English,  with  the  exception  of  a few  geographical 
and  biographical  names  which  have  been  fixed 
in  other  forms  by  long  usage. 


Shanghai,  China. 


R.  E.  L. 


Contents 

GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  IN  JAPAN 


1. 

Japanese  Education  Before  the 

Meiji  Era 

17 

II. 

Formulative  Forces 

24 

III. 

Sources  of  the  New  Learning 

29 

IV. 

The  General  Scheme 

40 

V. 

Government  Education  of  Japanese 

Women 

44 

VI. 

Higher  Education  and  Moral  Prob- 

lems   

5i 

VII. 

Elementary  Education  . 

63 

VIII. 

Secondary  and  Higher  Schools 

72 

IX. 

Universities 

77 

X. 

Technical  and  Agricultural  Col- 

leges   

84 

13 


H 


Contents 


GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA 


XI. 

Outlines  of  the  Ancient  System  . 

95 

XII. 

A Typical  Literary  Centre  . 

108 

XIII. 

Confucian  Education  as  a Political 

Force  

i«5 

XIV. 

The  White-Deer  College 

122 

XV. 

Classical  1'deals  of  Scholarship  . 

129 

XVI. 

Moral  Training  of  the  Princely 

Man 

137 

XVII. 

The  Confucian  Curriculum  . 

144 

XVIII. 

The  Metamorphosis  of  the  Ex- 

amination System 

157 

XIX. 

The  Rise  of  Modern  Colleges  in 

China 

171 

SCHOLASTIC  AND  RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS 

XX. 

Eastern  Educational  Conditions  . 

189 

XXI. 

The  Obligation  of  the  Church 

200 

Bibliography 

215 

Appendix 

221 

Index  

231 

Illustrations 


Nan  Yang  College,  Shanghai Facing  title 

College  of  Science,  Tokio  University  . . Facing  page  24 

Pres.  \V.  Fukuzawa « « 34 

Viscount  Mori “ « 34 

A Group  of  Christian  Japanese  Students  . “ “ 57 

Pres.  K.  Ibuka « « 61 

Pres.  Y.  Honda “ <«  61 

Engineering  College,  Tokio  University  . “ “ 75 

Main  Building  Fourth  Higher  School, 

Kanagawa “ « 75 

The  Nanking  Examination  Hall  ....  « "95 

The  White-Deer  College “ •'  122 

The  Kiukiang  Institute “ “ 127 

Minister  Conger,  Pres.  Sheffield  and 

Chinese  Officials  in  College  Grounds,  “ “ 17 1 

North  China  College  Rebuilt « <<  17 1 

Queen’s  College,  Hongkong « “ 175 

Viceroy  Chang  Chih  Tung “ “ 177 

Yuan  Shih  K’ai “ « 180 

Tuan  Fong “ “ 180 

Kang  YO  Wei " “183 

Shen  Tun  Ho “ « 183 

St.  John’s  College,  Shanghai " “ 193 

Senior  Students  in  China « « 205 


GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  IN  JAPAN 


“ It  is  intended  that  henceforth  education  shall 
be  so  diffused  that  there  may  not  be  a village  with 
an  ignorant  family,  or  a family  with  an  ignorant 
member.” — The  Emperor  of  Japan. 


I 

JAPANESE  EDUCATION  BEFORE  THE  MEIJI  ERA 

THE  “Meiji  Era,”  the  designation  of  the 
reign  of  the  present  Emperor  of  Japan, 
who  was  restored  to  supreme  power  by 
the  Revolution  of  1868,  is  marked  by  the  seclu- 
sion of  the  Shogun,  the  world  expansion  of  com- 
merce, the  inauguration  of  a constitutional  govern- 
ment, the  disestablishment  of  Buddhism,  and  the 
establishment  of  a national  system  of  education. 

Prior  to  the  Meiji  Era,  and  until  1871,  Japan 
was  in  a state  of  organized  feudalism,  and  from 
the  beginning  of  learning  in  Japan  to  the  present 
century,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  State  inter- 
ested itself  in  general  education,  which  was  left 
to  private  enterprise. 

The  progress  of  education  in  Europe  during 
the  Middle  Ages  was  similar  in  many  respects 
to  that  of  medieval  Japan.  In  the  latter  case 
Buddhist  temples  became  the  centres  of  a rude 
scholasticism.  While  the  rulers  despised  or  for- 
got the  education  of  the  people,  Buddhist  priests 
became  the  school-masters  of  the  nation.  They 
deserve  no  little  credit  for  seizing  this  oppor- 
tunity. The  course  of  instruction  was  based  on 
the  Buddhist  Sutras,  and  yet  for  many  years 
these  men  kept  the  flame  of  knowledge  from 

17 


18  Buddhism  and  Confucianism 

being  extinguished.  In  the  temples  throughout 
the  country  primary  schools  were  conducted  for 
all  classes,  sometimes  in  the  midst  of  fierce  in- 
ternecine struggles. 

Nor  were  they  content  merely  to  teach.  The 
priests  themselves  created  a literature  concerning 
whose  merit  scholars  may  now  differ,  but  which 
was  the  best  produced  in  Japan  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  temples  were  the  repositories  of 
this  literature,  and  the  monks  its  guardians.1  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  Buddhism 
had  indelibly  stamped  itself  on  the  language  as 
well  as  the  literature  of  Japan.  The  phraseology 
of  the  Japanese  people  was  influenced  by  the 
Sutras  somewhat  as  our  language  has  been  influ- 
enced by  the  Bible.2 

Buddhism  waned  with  the  advent  of  the 
Tokugawa  Shogunate.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century  Confucianism  began 
its  silent  conquest  of  the  Japanese  mind,  and 
retained  supremacy  until  the  Shoguns  were 
driven  from  power  in  1868.  For  three  and  a 
half  centuries  the  books  of  Confucius  taught 
by  Buddhist  priests  controlled  the  Japanese 
mind.  With  that  adaptability  which  Buddhism 
has  ever  shown,  it  shaped  itself  to  Confucian 
ideas,  and  became  the  propagator  rather  than  the 
opponent  of  Chinese  learning.  From  the  print- 
ing of  the  Chinese  Classics  in  Japan,  by  the  order 

1 Mikado’s  Empire,  pp.  201,  202,  297.  Religions  of  Japan, 
PP-  313.  3H. 

s Religions  of  Japan,  p.  265. 


Influence  of  Confucianism  19 

of  Ieyasu,  to  the  inception  of  Western  ideas, 
Confucian  philosophy  mixed  with  superstition 
has  been  the  one  force  to  be  considered  in  the 
educational  life  of  the  Japanese  nation.1 

Western  education  took  up  its  fight  against  a 
flat,  rectangular  world,  against  a stationary  plain 
with  a gyrating  sun,  against  alchemy,  geomancy, 
astrology,  and  mental  bondage.  Rational  history, 
physics,  and  philosophy  began  their  conquest. 
The  attempt  was  not  to  make  men  slaves  but  to 
compel  them  to  think.  Confucius,  the  Aristotle 
of  Asia,  had  produced  what  has  been  called  a 
“system  of  ethics  or  of  anthropology.”’  He 
claims  to  have  been,  in  his  own  words,  “ a trans- 
mitter and  not  a maker.”  Man,  his  relationships 
to  the  family,  to  society,  to  the  State,  to  Heaven, 
are  the  subjects  concerning  which  he  collates  his 
material  and  elaborates  with  marvellous  detail  his 
“Princely  Man.”  In  the  “Great  Learning,”  the 
relationships  and  prerogatives  of  the  Princely 
Man  are  marked  out:  the  study  of  things,  the 
completion  of  knowledge,  the  veracity  of  inten- 
tion, the  rectification  of  the  heart,  the  cultivation 
of  the  whole  person,  the  management  of  the 
family,  the  government  of  the  State,  and  the 
peace  of  the  whole  Empire.  Into  this  iron  mould 
the  men  of  Japan,  China  and  Korea  have  been 
cast  for  centuries,  producing  inflexible  uniformity 
in  thought-processes,  and  prohibiting  originality. 

1 Things  Japanese,  pp.  93,  124.  Mikado’s  Empire,  p.  297. 

5 Systematical  Digest  of  the  Doctrines  of  Confucius,  pp.  36, 

54-113- 


20  Sociology  and  Confucianism 

Literature,  philosophy,  patriotism,  sociology  were 
judged  by  one  standard.  Originality  was  disloy- 
alty. The  very  language  bearing  these  ideas  was 
infused  into  Japan,  “Mispronounced  and  in 
sound  bearing  as  much  resemblance  to  Pekingese 
speech  as  ‘ Pennsylvania  Dutch  ’ to  the  language 
of  Berlin.”1 

In  the  family,  as  the  foundation  of  society,  the 
sociologist  first  examines  the  position  of  woman. 
Said  the  Sage:  “ It  is  no  undesirable  thing  for  a 

wife  to  be  stupid,  whereas  a wise  woman  is  more 
likely  to  be  a curse  in  a family  than  a blessing.”2 

The  text-book  of  morals  was  Confucian,  and 
polygamy  was  an  integral  factor  in  the  system. 
Contempt  is  thrown  upon  “common  men  who 
are  bound  to  one  wife.”3  The  ideal  wife  is  the 
one  who  is  not  jealous  of  the  concubines  in  her 
husband’s  family.4  The  text-book  of  politics 
was  Confucian.  It  places  the  Emperor  above  all 
earthly  authority.  He  is  the  “Son  of  Heaven.” 
In  him  centres  and  from  him  radiates  all  power. 
He  therefore  cannot  recognize  the  sovereigns  of 
other  empires  as  his  equals.  Coupled  with 
Shintoism  in  Japan  it  was  the  basis  of  the  proud 
contempt  for  foreign  nations  which  often  ex- 

1 Religions  of  Japan,  pp.  356,  357.  Japanese  Education, 
Gov.,  p.  10.  History  of  Japan,  Adams,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  317*  3*8, 
321. 

8 Prolegomana  to  the  Shi  Ching,  Legge,  p/138. 

3 Confucianism  and  Taoism,  p.  125.  Confucianism,  Faber, 

p.  6. 

4 Prolegomana  to  the  Shi  Ching,  p.  140. 


I 


Weaknesses  of  Confucius — The  Samurai  21 

pressed  itself  in  violence  and  which  gave  way 
when  it  could  no  longer  resist. 

As  a historian  Confucius  has  been  severely 
dealt  with  by  the  critics.  “First  he  had  no  rev- 
erence for  truth  in  history.  I may  say  no  rever- 
ence for  truth,  without  any  modification.  He 
understood  well  enough  that  it  was  the  descrip- 
tion of  events  and  actions  according  as  they  had 
taken  place;  but  he  himself  constantly  trans- 
gressed it  in  all  three  ways,  which  1 have  indi- 
cated. Second,  he  shrank  from  looking  truth 
fairly  in  the  face.  It  was  through  this  attribute 
of  weakness  that  he  so  frequently  endeavored 
to  hide  the  truth  from  himself  and  others  by  ig- 
noring it  altogether,  or  by  giving  an  imperfect 
and  misleading  account  of  it.  Whenever  his 
prejudices  were  concerned,  he  was  liable  to  do 
this.  Third,  he  had  more  sympathy  with  power 
than  with  weakness,  and  would  overlook  wick- 
edness and  oppression  in  authority  rather  than 
resentment  and  revenge  in  men  who  were  suffer- 
ing from  them.  He  could  conceive  of  nothing 
so  worthy  of  condemnation  as  to  be  insubordi- 
nate. Hence  he  was  so  frequently  partial  in  his 
judgments  on  what  happened  to  rulers,  and  un- 
just in  his  estimate  of  the  conduct  of  their  sub- 
jects.” : 

In  the  latter  development  of  the  feudal  system 
in  Japan,  the  seats  of  the  great  lords,  or  Dai- 
mios,  became  the  centres  of  Confucian  learn- 
ing. There  were  two  classes  of  schools  for 

1 Prolegomana  on  the  Chun  Chiu,  Legge,  p.  50. 


22  The  Samurai — The  Yogaku 

the  education  of  the  military,  the  Hanga-ku, 
and  the  Hyoga-ku,  and  the  course  of  study 
covered  six  or  seven  years.1  The  product  of 
Confucian  learning  under  Daimio  patronage 
was  the  Samurai,  or  soldier-scholar  class.  They 
gradually  supplanted  the  Buddhist  priests  as  the 
real  leaders  of  the  people.  They  became  the 
most  influential  class  in  Japanese  society,  and  at 
the  present  time  number  more  than  one-twentieth 
of  the  people.  From  the  Samurai  have  come 
“nearly  all  the  great  warriors,  statesmen,  schol- 
ars, reformers,  Christians,  thinkers  and  philan- 
thropists of  modern  times.”2  The  transformation 
of  this  most  important  element  from  the  clannish 
patriot  and  double-sworded  swash-buckler  to  the 
scholar,  the  legislator,  and  the  merchant  is  one 
of  the  fascinating  studies  of  the  modern  East. 
The  Samurai  today  constitute  for  the  most  part 
the  governing  class. 

The  growing  mind  of  Japan  became  restive 
in  its  Confucian  fetters.  Attempts  were  made 
to  unite  the  best  in  Chinese  philosophy  with 
the  best  in  Shintoism  and  Buddhism.  The 
most  successful  of  these  attempts  was  the 
Yogaku  movement;  but  it  collapsed  in  the 
civil  struggle  which  raged  in  Japan  when  the 
doors  were  first  opened  to  foreign  nations. 

1 Outline  of  Modern  Education  in  Japan  (Gov.),  p.  17- 
History  of  Japan,  Adams,  p.  319,  320,  324.  Page  321  gives 
three  classes : the  Sho,  Chin,  and  Dai  Gakko,  i.  e.,  Small, 
Middle,  and  Great  Schools. 

5 Encyclopedia  of  Missions,  Vol.  I.,  p.  488. 


23 


The  Yogaku 

It  serves,  however,  to  show  the  temper  of  the 
people  towards  the  old  regime  and  to  explain 
the  readiness  with  which  the  Japanese  after- 
wards adopted  the  new  system.  The  Yogaku 
movement,  together  with  other  forces,  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  unwarranted  seclu- 
sion of  the  Mikado  and  the  unnatural  assumption 
of  the  Shogun,  and  illustrates  a general  develop- 
ment which  culminated  in  the  battle  of  Fushimi 
in  January,  1868.  This  marks  the  beginning  of 
the  modern  era  in  Japanese  history. 


II 

FORMATIVE  FORCES 


TO  Holland  undoubtedly  belongs  the 
credit  of  awakening  in  Japan  a desire 
for  Western  learning.  From  1630  the 
Dutch  had  been  allowed  to  hold  a trading 
post  in  Nagasaki  Bay,  where  despised  by  the 
Government,  their  rights  curtailed,  suspected  and 
often  maltreated,  they  were  nevertheless  secretly 
sought  out  by  young  men,  many  of  whom  were 
willing  to  risk  their  lives  in  the  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge.1 It  was  not  long  before  this  surreptitious 
teaching  gained  a local  fame,  and  “Rangaku,” 
or  “Dutch  Learning  ” was  reputed  to  convey  an 
elementary  knowledge  of  mining,  engineering, 
pharmacy,  astronomy,  and  especially  of  medi- 
cine. 

So  strong  did  the  influence  of  these  Nagasaki 
merchant-teachers  become,  and  so  open  was  the 
avowal  of  the  new  ideas,  that  examinations  in 
Western  learning  were  finally  instituted  by  the 
Japanese  in  Tokio.  The  ardor  of  those  who 
would  escape  from  the  bondage  of  Confucianism 
is  illustrated  by  Shozan  Sakuma  who  petitioned 

1 Lord  Elgin’s  Mission  to  China  and  Japan,  Oliphant,  p.  30. 
Intercourse  of  United  States  and  Japan,  Oliphant,  p.  309.  Mat- 
thew Calbraith  Perry,  Griffis,  pp.  424,  425. 

24 


COLLEGE  OF  SCIENCE,  TOKIO  UNIVERSITY. 
ONE  OF  00  BUILDINGS  MAKING  Ul>  TUB  UNIVERSITY. 


25 


Perry  and  Harris 

his  feudal  lord,  “to  establish  schools  even  in  the 
smallest  villages,  to  instruct  the  people  in  the 
principles  of  morals.”  For  such  a daring  act  this 
overzealous  patriot  was  assassinated  in  1864.  It 
was  in  the  midst  of  such  uncertainties  that  Amer- 
ica appeared  and  opened  the  doors  of  Japan. 
Various  attempts  had  previously  been  made  by 
England,  France,  Russia  and  America,  but  these 
had  proved  unsuccessful  because  those  countries 
were  unwilling  to  assume  a position  of  vassalage. 
The  American  fleet  under  Com.  M.  C.  Perry,  an- 
chored in  Yedo  Bay  in  1853.  Three  incidents  of 
Perry’s  stay  indicate  the  results  of  his  expedition. 
While  the  fleet  was  in  the  bay  the  gallant  com- 
modore and  his  men  sang  that  grand  old  hymn, 

“ Before  Jehovah’s  awful  throne. 

Ye  nations  bow  with  sacred  joy.” 

He  demanded  an  interview  with  the  Shogun, 
and  he  brought  as  one  of  his  gifts  a Webster's 
Dictionary.  The  treaty  which  was  then  made 
between  America  and  Japan  paved  the  way  for 
Christianity,  commerce  and  education.1  Perry 
was  followed  by  Townsend  Harris,  the  first  en- 
voy resident  in  Japan.  Mr.  Harris,  unaided  by 
ship  or  gun,  forced  an  audience  with  the  Shogun 
in  Yedo,  and  after  weary  negotiations  carried 
through  a permanent  treaty,  which  was  for  years 

1 Treaty  signed  Friday,  March  31,  1854.  The  United  States- 
Japan  Expedition,  1856,  edited  by  F.  L.  Hawkes,  LL.  D.,  con- 
tains a complete  record  of  the  expedition.  For  text  of  treaty, 
e PP-  377-379- 


26  American  Diplomacy 

the  basis  of  all  diplomatic  relations  with  Japan, 
both  American  and  European.1 

Lord  Elgin,  the  British  diplomat,  arrived  in 
Japan  five  years  after  Perry  made  his  historic 
visit,  and  called  on  Mr.  Harris  in  Shi-moda,  only 
to  learn  that  the  latter  had  already  consummated 
his  commercial  treaty.  Mr.  Harris  showed  his 
good-will  by  offering  to  Lord  Elgin  the  services 
of  his  confidential  secretary  and  interpreter.  On 
August  28,  1858,  the  British-Japanese  treaty  was 
signed,  thirty  days  after  Harris  had  consummated 
the  second  American-Japanese  treaty.2 

The  results  to  education  of  this  American  diplo- 
macy were  immediately  felt.  Schools  were 
opened  for  the  study  of  foreign  languages  and 
institutions,  and  independent  academies  grew  up 
like  mushrooms.  When  the  stern  task  of  solv- 
ing revolutionary  problems  was  once  finished, 
education  began  to  take  organized  form.  In 
1868,  at  the  opening  of  the  Meiji  Era,  a provi- 
sional board  was  established  in  Kioto  and  the 
court  nobles,  feudal  lords,  and  public  officials 
were  commanded  to  attend  the  new  schools 
opened  in  Tokio.  In  1871,  the  Mombusho,  or 
Department  of  Education,  was  established,  and 
the  Ministry  of  State  began  the  quiet  revolution- 

1 Townsend  Harris’  First  American  Envoy  in  Japan,  Griffis, 
pp.  140-325.  History  of  Japan,  p.  117. 

* Narrative  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin’s  Mission  to  China  and  Japan, 
pp.  344,  345,  355  and  482.  August  18,  1858,  according  to 
History  of  Japan,  Adams,  vol.  i,  p.  117.  Townsend  Harris, 
First  American  Envoy,  p.  321. 


Japanese  in  America  27 

ary  work  upon  which  the  future  of  Japan  so 
largely  depends. 

American  influence  did  not  cease  with  the  de- 
cisive diplomatic  success  of  Perry  and  Harris. 
Without  the  thought  of  territorial  acquisition,  the 
United  States  impressed  one  of  its  greatest  insti- 
tutions upon  the  Japanese  Empire.  In  i860, 
through  the  influence  of  Envoy  Harris,  the  first 
Japanese  foreign  commissioners  visited  America, 
taking  passage  in  the  United  States  warship 
Powhatan.  Mr.  Shimmi  was  the  head  of  this 
mission.  The  World’s  Embassy  followed  in 

1872,  and  numbered  among  its  forty-nine  mem- 
bers, Prince  Iwakura,  and  Count,  now  Marquis, 
Ito.  It  called  as  its  Secretary,  J.  H.  Neesima, 
who  was  studying  in  America.  One  of  the  most 
important  parts  of  the  report  of  this  embassy  re- 
lated to  education.  As  early  as  1866,  the  first 
group  of  Japanese  students  had  gone  abroad,  and 
during  the  next  ten  years  about  five  hundred 
more  sought  training  in  America  at  the  colleges 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  alone.  Over 
three  hundred  have  entered  Rutgers  College  in 
New  Jersey.  In  1887,  there  were  six  hundred 
and  eighty-six  male  and  thirteen  female  Japanese 
students  in  America. 

The  Government  sent  many  men  at  its  own 
expense  to  study  in  foreign  lands,  the  larger 
number  of  whom  at  first  went  to  America.  In 

1873,  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty  all  pur- 
suing their  studies  under  the  direction  of  the 
Japanese  Government.  They  were  all  recalled  in 


28  Launching  the  New  Scheme 

1874,  and  from  1875  to  1890,  only  about  ninety 
government  students  were  sent  abroad,  and  in 
1895,  only  twelve  were  officially  sent  away  to  be 
educated. 

In  1872,  the  Government  of  Japan  considered 
itself  ready  to  launch  the  new  scheme.  In  pro- 
mulgating the  educational  code,  the  Emperor  said: 

“All  knowledge  from  that  necessary  for  daily 
life  to  that  higher  knowledge  necessary  to  pre- 
pare officers,  farmers,  mechanics,  artisans,  physi- 
cians, etc.,  for  their  respective  vocations,  is  ac- 
quired by  learning.  It  is  intended  that  hence- 
forth education  shall  be  so  diffused  that  there 
may  not  be  a village  with  an  ignorant  family,  or 
a family  with  an  ignorant  member.  Persons  who 
have  hitherto  applied  themselves  to  study  have 
always  looked  to  the  Government  for  their  ex- 
penses. This  is  an  erroneous  notion,  proceeding 
from  long  abuse,  and  every  person  should  hence- 
forth endeavor  to  acquire  knowledge  by  his  own 
exertions.” 

It  was  no  small  undertaking  to  teach  an  oriental 
nation  by  western  methods  until  there  should 
“ not  be  a village  with  an  ignorant  family,  or  a 
family  with  an  ignorant  member.”  But  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  displays  more  prominently 
the  bold  resolution  with  which  the  Emperor’s 
ministers  have  attempted  its  execution. 


Ill 


SOURCES  OF  THE  NEW  LEARNING 
HE  friendly  relations  between  the  United 


States  and  Japan  are  nowhere  better  ex- 


hibited than  in  educational  matters.  Hon. 


William  A.  Seward  early  defined  the  basis  of 
this  entente  cor  diale,  as  follows: 

“ If  the  tutorship  of  the  United  States  in  Japan 
is  to  be  successful,  it  must  be  based  on  deeper 
and  broader  principles  of  philanthropy  than  have 
hitherto  been  practiced  in  the  intercourse  of  na- 
tions . . . a philanthropy  which  shall  not  be 

content  with  sending  armies  and  navies  to  com- 
pel, but  which  shall  send  teachers  to  instruct  and 
establish  schools  on  the  American  system,  where 
philosophy  and  morals,  as  well  as  religious  faith 
are  taught  with  just  regard  to  their  influence  in 
their  social  and  domestic  life."  * This  advice 
seems  to  have  actually  shaped  the  American 
policy,  and  largely  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in 
the  formative  stage  of  education  in  Japan  Ameri- 
can influence  was  predominant. 

President  K.  Ibuka  of  Tokio  has  said  that 
when  Japan  reached  out  after  western  ideas,  she 
copied  her  navy  from  Great  Britain,  her  army 


1 Seward’s  Travels,  p.  93. 
29 


30  Founders  of  Education 

from  France,  her  medical  science  from  Germany, 
and  her  educational  system  from  America. 

Although  an  extended  account  of  the  work  of 
each  may  not  here  be  given,  yet  it  would  be  un- 
grateful to  them,  and  untrue  to  history,  to  pass 
over  the  names  of  the  Americans  who  laid  edu- 
cational foundations  in  Japan.  Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn 
was  the  lexicographer  who  made  possible  to 
Englishmen  the  study  of  the  Japanese  language, 
and  whose  work  stood  protected  by  Imperial 
Edict.  Prof.  R.  Pumelly  surveyed  mineral  de- 
posits, and  introduced  powder  and  blasting  in 
mining.  Prof.  Edwin  S.  Morse  founded  the 
Archaeological  Museum  of  the  Imperial  Univer- 
sity, and  taught  Zoology.  Prof.  T.  C.  Menden- 
hall, as  professor  of  experimental  Physics,  made 
scientific  study  of  the  force  of  gravity,  wave 
lengths,  and  other  physical  phenomena.  Mr.  B. 
S.  Lyman  surveyed  oil  lands,  and  charted  them 
for  the  Government.  General  Horace  Capron  in- 
troduced American  agriculture,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  the  development  of  the  first  fully  organ- 
ized Agricultural  College  by  Wm.  S.  Clark,  LL. 
D.  Musical  education  was  introduced  by  Luther 
W.  Mason  of  Boston,  and  Dr.  Leland  founded 
the  system  of  school  gymnastics.  Miss  Linda  R. 
Richards,  sometime  superintendent  of  the  Bos- 
ton City  Hospital,  inaugurated  the  scientific  train- 
ing of  nurses,  and  Mr.  M.  M.  Scott  was  the 
founder  of  the  Normal  School  system.  Dr.  David 
Murray,  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Board  of 
Regents,  was  for  some  time  the  official  adviser 


Influence  of  Verbeck  31 

of  the  Japanese  Department  of  education,  and 
founded  the  educational  Museum.  The  forma- 
tive influence  of  America  is  also  seen  in  the 
Japanese  who  were  trained  in  American  Univer- 
sities for  educational  leadership.  Among  such 
men  were  the  President  of  the  Tokio  University, 
the  Vice-President  of  the  University,  the  Dean  of 
the  Literature  faculty,  the  Professors  of  English 
and  Latin,  the  Professor  of  Jurisprudence,  the 
Professor  of  Physics,  the  Professor  of  Botany, 
the  founder  of  the  Doshisha,  and  many  others. 

An  American  missionary  and  a Japanese  edu- 
cated in  America  were  prominent  figures  in  the 
days  of  Japan’s  awakening.  Dr.  Guido  F.  Ver- 
beck, a Hollander  by  birth  and  early  training, 
finished  his  education  in  America,  and  reached 
Japan  in  1859,  nine  years  before  the  Restoration. 
He  settled  in  Nagasaki,  gained  a reputation  as  a 
teacher,  and  through  his  co-operation,  in  1866, 
the  first  Japanese  youths  were  sent  to  America  to 
study.  It  was  he  who  proposed  the  Japanese 
World’s  Commission  of  1872,  and  when  its  per- 
sonnel was  announced  he  found  that  about  one- 
half  had  been  his  students.  In  1869  he  came  to 
Tokio,  at  the  call  of  the  government,  and  began 
his  work  as  founder  of  the  national  educational 
system,  and  first  president  of  the  Imperial  Uni- 
versity then,  of  course,  in  embryo.  Of  foreign- 
ers the  most  accomplished  Japanese  linguist,  he 
became  the  confidential  adviser  of  New  Japan. 
He  translated  into  Japanese  the  Code  Napoleon, 
Bluntschli’s  “ Staatsrecht,”  “ Two  Thousand  Legal 


32 


Verbeck  and  Neesima 


Maxims,”  the  Constitutions  of  various  nations,  and 
many  other  valuable  documents  for  the  guidance 
of  the  nation.  He  trained  the  foremost  men  of 
state,  and  to  him,  together  with  Drs.  Brown  and 
Hepburn,  more  than  to  any  others,  New  Japan 
owes  a debt  of  perpetual  gratitude.1 

It  was  Dr.  Verbeck’s  cosmopolitan  training 
which  led  him  to  advise  the  Government  to  place 
the  medical  colleges  of  Japan  under  German 
leadership.2  It  was  through  his  counsel  and  co- 
operation that  the  French  legal  code,  and  legal 
study,  were  adopted. 

At  the  time  Dr.  Verbeck  was  unfolding  his  edu- 
cational plans  in  Tokio,  J.  H.  Neesima,  LL.  D., 
was  founding  the  Doshisha  at  Kioto,  the  first 
Christian  college  in  the  Empire.  We  can  scarcely 
understand  the  influences  that  shaped  Japanese 
education  if  we  overlook  Neesima,  a scholarly 
Samurai  educated  at  Phillips  Andover,  Amherst 
College,  and  Andover  Seminary.  In  1871-3,  he 
served  the  world’s  embassy  as  interpreter,  on  the 
condition  that  he  should  be  permitted  to  teach 
English  and  Christianity  on  his  return  to  Japan. 
He  was  brought  up  a Shintoist,  became  an  Athe- 
ist, was  converted  to  Christianity,  was  gradu- 
ated with  honors,  became  a clergyman,  and  re- 
turning to  Japan,  figured  as  one  of  its  greatest 
educators  and  reformers.  His  work  in  Japan  was 
pressed  into  the  years  from  1874  to  1890.  His 

1 The  Yoruzu  Choho,  1898.  The  Tokio  Times,  1878.  The 
Kokum  no  Torno,  1898. 

8 Baron  Ishiguro  in  the  Tenchijin;  Surgeon-General  Ishiguro. 


Neesima  and  Fukuzawa 


33 


influence  was  felt  throughout  the  nation,  but  his 
special  work  was  the  creation  of  the  Doshisha. 
At  his  death  that  institution  had  five  hundred 
and  seventy  students,  and  was  equipped  with 
thirteen  dormitories,  a chapel,  library,  science 
hall  and  gymnasium.  He  was  appreciatad  not 
alone  by  Christians  and  Europeans,  the  Japanese 
of  all  classes  have  not  been  slow  to  recognize  his 
strength  of  character.1  Drs.  Verbeck  and  Nees- 
ima were  both  men  of  retiring  nature,  but  both 
had  the  faculty  of  bringing  things  to  pass.  Both 
were  sinologues,  yet  neither  was  simply  a scho- 
lastic. 

Among  the  men  who  have  laid  the  foundation 
of  western  education  in  Japan,  Mr.  Fukuzawa 

1 Mr.  Fukuzawa,  a noted  educator,  writing  in  the  Contempor- 
ary Review  of  Japan  about  Dr.  Neesima,  said  : « Independent 

men  make  an  independent  society.  Mr.  Neesima,  living  in  a 
corrupt  age,  was  not  corrupted  by  it.  Working  earnestly  in  the 
cause  of  education  and  religion,  his  purpose  was  ever  single. 
The  body  perished,  but  his  name  is  beyond  the  reach  of  ob- 
livion.” 

President  Kato,  of  the  Tokio  University,  spoke  as  follows  of 
Mr.  Neesima  : “ I am  not  a believer  in  Jesus  . . . neither 

am  I a Buddhist.  I am  a man  of  no  religion.  ...  I 
praise  him  for  that  steadfast  spirit,  so  essential  in  every  sphere, 
of  religion,  learning,  politics,  or  trade.  I believe  this  spirit  is 
the  greatest  necessity  of  this  country.” 

Mr.  Takagoshi  wrote  in  a prominent  journal:  “ His  fame  is 
the  common  glory  of  the  nation.” 

Mr.  Tokutomi  said,  in  the  Kokumin  no  Tomo  : “ As  a so- 
ciety, we  have  lost  the  leader  of  the  cause  of  moral  reformation 
of  Japan.” 

Quoted  in  Hardy’s  Life  of  Neesima. 


34 


Fukuzawa’s  Work 


can  scarcely  rank  second.  His  personal  influence 
was  longer  applied  than  that  of  Mr.  Neesima, 
and  after  the  latter’s  death,  Mr.  Fukuzawa  was 
the  greatest  Japanese  educator-reformer.  Europe 
rather  than  America  seems  to  have  most  strongly 
influenced  him.  Declining  all  official  preferment 
he  has  held  himself  free  to  act  and  to  speak,  and 
Japan  has  felt  the  power  of  his  virile  mind.  He 
built  up  an  independent  college  in  Tokio  with  a 
large  faculty  and  a thousand  students.  As  a 
writer,  his  books  have  had  an  enormous  circula- 
tion. His  “ Promotion  of  Learning”  consisted  of 
seventeen  volumes,  and  the  Japanese  bought  and 
read  200,000  sets  of  the  complete  work.  His  ob- 
servations and  experiences  in  Europe  when  put 
in  type  reached  a sale  of  250,000  copies.  He  has 
not  been  afraid  to  assault  those  customs  of  his 
land  that  he  has  considered  unworthy,  and  al- 
though his  nature  was  not  four-square,  yet  he 
was  a great  man. 

We  pass  from  the  sources  of  the  general  edu- 
cational renaissance  to  note  one  or  two  phases  of 
education  in  Japan.  The  university  system  was 
first  on  an  American  plan,  but  was  radically 
changed  by  German  influence.  The  present  or- 
ganization of  the  Imperial  Universities  finds  no 
complete  counterpart  in  America. 

In  medical  education,  the  German  system  has 
altogether  prevailed.  In  1870,  the  Government 
was  memorialized  to  the  effect  that  foreign  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  and  specifically  Germans,  be 
invited  to  teach  medicine  in  Japanese  medical 


PRES.  W.  FUKUZAWA.  VISCOUNT  MORI. 

REFORMER  AND  FOUNDER  OK  A COLLEGE  OK  A FOUNDER  OK'  JAPANESE  EDUCATION,  AND 

A THOUSAND  STUDENTS.  MINISTER  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


German  Influence 


35 


colleges.  The  petition  was  favorably  considered, 
and  that  same  year  twelve  Japanese  medical 
students  were  sent  to  Germany.  Early  in  its 
history  a dozen  Germans  were  prominent  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University.1  Eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty  was  a notable  year  in  Japa- 
nese medicine  for  the  first  degrees  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  were  then  conferred  on  eighteen  stu- 
dents who  had  finished  the  German  course  of 
study. 

Outside  the  Imperial  University  were  eminent 
teachers  of  medicine.  Dr.  Faulds,  a Scottish 
missionary,  founded  Tsukiji  Hospital,  and  intro- 
duced Lister’s  system  of  antiseptic  treatment. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn,  of  the  Presbyterian  Board, 
began  medical  work  at  Yokohama  (Kanagawa) 
in  October,  1859,  and  through  his  clinical  instruc- 
tion trained  many  Japanese  who  have  risen  to 
prominence  in  practice.  The  Japanese  State  Hos- 
pital was  for  years  in  charge  of  Dr.  Simmons  as 
surgeon-in-chief.  Drs.  Wheeler  and  Anderson, 
from  1874  to  1879,  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Naval  Hospital,  and  Dr.  Benkema  those  of  the 
Military  Hospital. 

At  Hakodate,  two  Russian  surgeons  gathered 
medical  classes  in  1858  and  1859.  They  were 
Surgeons  Albrecht  and  Zalisky  of  the  Imperial 

1 Dr.  Muller,  a Prussian  Chief-Staff  Surgeon,  Dr.  Hoffman,  a 
Prussian  fleet  surgeon,  Drs.  Wagner,  Simmons,  Cochins,  Hel- 
gendorf,  Funk,  Professor  Neiworth,  Drs.  Doenitz,  Wernich, 
Gierke,  Schultze,  Lenggaard,  Marlin,  Baelz,  Diesse,  Schriba, 
Van  Der  Heyden,  and  others. 


Medical  Instructors 


36 

Navy.  When  Dr.  Stewart  Eldridge  took  up  their 
work  in  1872,  permanent  hospitals  were  estab- 
lished in  the  northern  island  of  Yezo  of  which 
Hakodate  is  the  chief  port.  In  Osaka,  about 
1858,  a second  military  medical  college  was  es- 
tablished, and  put  in  charge  of  Dr.  Bowdin,  who 
was  succeeded,  in  1871,  by  Dr.  Emerens.  In 
1873,  the  St.  Barnabas  Hospital,  as  it  is  now 
known,  was  opened  in  Osaka  by  Dr.  Lanning,  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board.  Dr.  Vedder,  Surgeon  in 
the  United  States  Navy,  opened  the  first  hospital 
in  Kobe.  Here  Dr.  J.  C.  Berry,  of  the  American 
Board,  became  director  of  the  new  Government 
Hospital,  and  in  1873,  gained  the  first  permission 
to  dissect  human  bodies.  Dr.  Thornicraft  was 
associated  with  him  in  his  important  work.  We 
refer  in  particular  to  those  in  charge  of  hospitals, 
as  well  as  Medical  Colleges,  because  the  hospital 
is  an  essential  in  medical  education.  And  fur- 
thermore, much  instruction  was  given  to  medical 
students  in  hospitals  before  the  system  of  col- 
leges was  perfected. 

German  influence  is  again  seen  in  the  Pharma- 
copaeia  compiled  by  the  Central  Sanitary  Bureau, 
which  largely  follows  the  German  classification, 
and  came  out  first  in  the  German  language.  The 
foreign  medical  literature  relating  to  Japan  finds 
skilled  exponents.1  There  has  arisen  a school  of 

1 The  better  known  include  Drs.  Wilhelm  Ten  Rhyne, 
Kaempfer,  Mohnike,  Siebold,  Hoffman,  Wernich,  Hilgendorf, 
Geerts,  Simmons,  Scheube,  Baelz,  Anderson,  Eldridge,  Faulds, 
Taylor  and  Berry.  P.  385,  Whitney,  Vol.  12,  July  No.,T.  A.  S.  J 


Independence  of  Educators  37 

eminent  Japanese  whose  skill  in  general  practice 
or  in  specialization  is  a satisfactory  indication  of 
the  future  place  of  Western  Medicine  in  Japan.1 

When  the  nation  decided  to  go  to  school  it  also 
resolved  to  study  at  the  feet  of  those  who  knew. 
There  was  boundless  admiration  for  new  truth, 
and  reverence  for  its  exponents.  This,  however, 
gave  place  to  over-assurance,  and  by  the  time  of 
the  China-Japan  war  in  1894,  the  native  educa- 
tors had  declared  their  independence  of  foreign 
guidance.  The  foreigners  in  the  department  of 
education  and  in  the  colleges  under  its  immediate 
management  numbered  only  thirty-one.2  But 
including  the  institutions  contracted  by  the  Fu 
(city),  Ken  (prefecture)  and  Gun  (county)  there 
was  a total  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
foreign  instructors  in  Japan.  Two  hundred  and 
two  of  them  were  engaged  in  what  are  termed 
“ Miscellaneous  Schools,”  or  schools  which  may 
make  a speciality  of  English,  literature,  law  or 
science,  but  which  on  other  subjects  have  a defi- 
cient curriculum.  Under  this  heading,  many 
mission  schools  are  also  grouped.3  Her  army 
and  navy  dispensing  with  their  European  tutors, 
had  been  capably  led  by  Japanese  officers,  and 
the  nation  expected  the  educational  system  simi- 

1 Among  prominent  Japanese  Physicians  in  Tokio  have  been 
mentioned  Drs.  Matsumoto,  Ikeda,  Hashimoto,  Miyake,  Sasaki, 
Sato,  Takaki,  Totsuka,  Shimidzu,  Mume,  Harada,  Kagawa, 
and  Osawa.  P.  388,  Whitney,  Vol.  12,  July,  T.  A.  S.  J. 

2 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  1. 

3 See  Appendix,  Tables  Nos.  2 and  4. 


38  Dispensing  With  Foreigners 

larly  to  cut  loose  from  its  leading  strings.  At 
this  time  the  new  education  had  been  largely 
Japanized.  Over  80,000  native  professors  and 
teachers  were  devoting  their  attention  to  4,000,- 
000  pupils  in  28,000  different  schools. 

The  pronounced  tendency  of  the  Japanese  to 
dispense  with  foreign  assistance  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  the  best  educational  experience. 
There  are,  as  permanent  factors  in  the  American 
and  English  universities  and  higher  schools,  large 
numbers  of  foreign  professors.  They  are  con- 
sidered a source  of  strength  not  of  weakness  to 
such  institutions.  These  professors  are  not  dis- 
missed as  soon  as  local  talent  is  reported  to  be 
ready  to  fill  their  posts.  Such  a sympathetic 
critic  of  Japan  as  the  Japan  Mail  feels  that  “it  is 
impossible  not  to  feel  regret  that  she  has  never 
reconciled  herself  to  permanently  assimilate  the 
foreigners  who  enter  her  employment.”  After 
reference  to  the  distinguished  teachers  who 
have  been  retired  from  the  Japanese  educa- 
tional system  after  a few  years  of  service  the 
editor  observes,  that  “Japan  would  have  been 
greatly  richer  could  she  have  retained  these  men 
not  merely  as  employees  but  as  life  members  of 
her  service.”  From  the  point  of  view  of  infusing 
new  ideas  into  scientific  progress,  “it  is  an  un- 
qualified pity  that  the  Japanese  have  always 
adopted  the  policy  of  using  the  foreigner  merely 
for  such  a period  as  may  suffice  to  equip  a native 
remplacant.”  Of  all  the  distinguished  Germans 
who  have  aided  her  in  various  departments  of 


Few  Verbiests  Now 


39 


government  almost  none  remain,  and  among  the 
Americans  there  are  now  no  Verbecks.  The 
Mail  refers  to  the  superior  sagacity  of  China 
which  seized  upon  the  talented  German  Jesuit 
Verbiest  and  commanded  his  services  during  the 
sway  of  four  successive  Emperors.  “It  is  not 
so  in  Japan,”  laments  the  editor.  “It  is  no 
longer  true  of  China,”  is  our  reply. 


IV 

THE  GENERAL  SCHEME 


THE  strength  or  weakness  of  education  in 
Japan  will  appear  in  the  later  chapters, 
where  the  common  schools,  middle 
schools,  high  institutions  and  universities  are 
discussed  separately.  At  present  we  will  treat 
the  system  as  a whole. 

The  first  educational  code  was  promulgated  in 
1872,  and  in  1891,  though  twenty  years  had  not 
passed,  there  were  in  the  Government  schools 
3,630,000  pupils, — an  increase  of  over  3,000.000 
per  cent. ! 1 The  most  complete  works  on  Japan, 
such  as  Dr.  Rein  of  Germany  and  Dr.  Griffis  of 
America  have  written,  make  but  brief  reference 
to  education.  Dr.  Rein,  however,  makes  this 
important  observation:  “Accordingly,  of  all  the 
innovations  made  during  the  Meiji  period,  those 
are  justly  regarded  as  most  important  which 
emanated  from  the  department  of  education,  and 
had  in  view  a better  and  more  liberal  training  of 
the  Japanese  youth.”2  In  1880,  the  experienced 
traveller,  Miss  I.  L.  Bird,  wrote,  in  her  “Un- 
beaten Tracks  of  Japan”:  “Nothing  is  more 

1 Japan  Mail , Jan.  23,  1874;  estimated  by  Ed.  Depart., 
total  number  of  pupils  in  1873,  four  hundred  thousand. 

2 Rein’s  Japan,  p.  429. 


40 


Classes  of  Schools 


41 

surprising  than  the  efforts  which  the  Govern- 
ment is  making  to  educate  the  people.” 

The  national  plan  of  education  includes  six  dis- 
tinct classes  of  institutions  having  somewhat 
different  names  from  those  in  use  in  the  United 
States. 


Comparative  Names  of  Institutions. 

Japan.  United  States. 

Lower  Elementary,  Primary. 

Higher  Elementary,  Grammar. 

Middle,  First  two  years  of  High  School. 

Higher,  Last  two  years  of  High  School 

and  first  two  of  College. 

Colleges  of  the  University,  Professional  Colleges. 
University  Hall,  Postgraduate  School  in  Arts, 

Law,  Medicine,  etc. 

The  Japanese  system  is  more  evenly  graded 
and  has  a continuity  in  the  higher  courses  which 
the  American  lacks,  and  it  presupposes  graduate 
work  in  the  University,  as  no  degree  is  conferred 
until  men  have  finished,  not  the  “ Higher  ” insti- 
tutions, but  the  colleges  of  the  University;  and 
no  Doctor’s  degree  is  bestowed  until  the  course 
in  University  Hall  has  been  completed.1 

The  Department  of  Education  was  established 
in  1871,  as  one  of  the  eight  ministries  of  the  Im- 
perial Government.  It  was  originally  under  the 
care  of  the  following  officers:  Three  Chokumin, 

nineteen  Sonin,  four  vice-Sonin,  seventy-two 
Hannin,  two  vice-Hannin,  and  one  hundred  and 


1 See  Chapter  on  Universities. 


42  Thirty-six  Mission  Yen 

fifteen  Yatoi,  corresponding  to  Presidents,  Di- 
rectors, Clerks,  etc. 

The  Department  is  not  taxed  with  the  support 
of  elementary  or  middle  schools,  which  derive 
their  revenue  directly  from  the  Fu,  Ken,  or  Gun. 
The  Department  is  responsible,  however,  not 
only  for  its  own  maintenance,  but  also  for  the 
maintenance  of  all  higher  government  education. 
Taking  as  an  average  year  1896-7,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education  spent  over  600,000  yen  on 
the  Imperial  University,  over  60,000  yen  on  the 
Higher  Normal  School,  40,000  yen  on  the  Higher 
Commercial  School,  370,000  yen  on  the  six 
Higher  Schools,  and  150,000  yen  for  Technical 
Education,  aside  from  that  spent  on  the  Uni- 
versity for  this  purpose,  and  nearly  40,000  yen 
for  directors  of  Normal  Schools. 

Including  the  various  other  institutions  which 
the  Department  controls,  its  total  expenditure  for 
1896  was  yen  1,738,092,  or  about  half  that 
amount  in  gold.  The  public  school  expenditure 
for  Fu  and  Ken  in  addition,  amounted  to  yen 
15,526,101.  In  1900  the  total  educational  outlay 
amounted  to  between  34,000,000  and  36,000,000 
yen. 

The  Minister  of  Education,  who  controls  this 
elaborate  system,  holds  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant portfolios  in  the  gift  of  the  Government. 
For  the  purposes  of  administration  his  depart- 
ment has  seven  distinct  subdivisions:  treasury, 
public  documents,  compilation,  teachers’  licenses, 
teachers’  pensions,  reports  and  records.  The 


43 


The  Ministry  of  Education 

work  is  very  onerous,  for  it  includes  the  appoint- 
ment, promotion,  dismission,  and  ranking  of 
public  school  officials;  the  proper  licensing  and 
classifying  of  teachers;  the  examination  of  books 
and  charts;  the  composition  or  compilation  of 
text-books;  the  adjusting  of  pensions  for  teach- 
ers, or  the  families  of  deceased  teachers;  ques- 
tions relating  to  foreigners  in  the  employ  of  the 
department;  the  location  and  support  of  Japa- 
nese students  in  foreign  lands;  the  consideration 
of  petitions  sent  to  the  Department;  and  the  re- 
lation of  all  these  matters  to  the  public  treasury. 

The  Central  Government  holds  a strong  hand 
on  the  schools  and  colleges  of  Japan.  Their 
general  policy  is  not  left  to  local  or  provincial 
enterprise  or  prejudice.  Mushroom  institutions 
cannot  grow  up  in  a night  and  forthwith  begin 
dispensing  degrees  and  post-graduate  honors. 
In  steadying  the  over-enthusiasm  of  his  country- 
men, by  inspiring  legislation  of  permanent  value, 
and  in  securing  the  largest  measure  of  develop- 
ment for  the  millions  of  youth  under  his  charge, 
the  Educational  Minister  shapes  the  future  of  his 
country. 


V 

GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  OF  JAPANESE  WOMEN 

DURING  the  feudal  era  of  Japanese  his- 
tory, no  provision  was  made  by  the  State 
for  the  education  of  women,  which 
largely  explains  the  subordinate  position  accorded 
to  them.  The  position  of  woman  in  Japan,  dur- 
ing the  feudal  era,  is  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of 
the  age  of  chivalry  in  Europe;  and  Buddhism  and 
Confucianism  are  rightly  charged  by  Japanese 
with  being  the  false  teachers  of  the  nation. 

That  interesting  Japanese  document,  “ The 
Great  Learning  For  Women,”  sets  forth  authorita- 
tively the  former  attitude  of  the  nation  towards 
woman’s  education.  It  says:  “ The  five  worst 

maladies  that  affect  the  female  mind  are : indocility, 
discontent,  slander,  jealousy  and  silliness.  With- 
out doubt,  these  five  maladies  affect  seven  or 
eight  out  of  every  ten  women.”  And  then  it 
proceeds  to  lay  down  the  law  that,  “ Such  is  the 
stupidity  of  her  character  that  it  is  encumbent  on 
her  in  every  particular  to  distrust  herself,  and  to 
obey  her  husband.”1  Such  was  the  intolerable 
insolence  shown  towards  the  mental  develop- 
ment of  Japanese  women  in  general  up  to  the 

1 The  Great  Learning  for  Women,  see  Things  Japanese,  pp. 
454-63,  and  the  American  Missionary  in  Japan,  p.  176. 

44 


Women  to  be  Taught  45 

time  of  the  Restoration,  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

General  Kuroda,  head  of  what  was  then  the 
Colonial  Department  of  the  Government,  advised 
that  a few  young  women  of  good  families  be 
sent  to  the  United  States  to  be  educated.  The 
Emperor  approved  this  plan,  and  in  1871  they 
were  authorized  to  go.  His  Majesty  said,  in  part, 
“Women,  therefore,  have  had  no  position  so- 
cially because  it  was  considered  that  they  were 
without  understanding;  but  if  educated  and  in- 
telligent, they  should  have  due  respect.”1  The 
head  of  the  nation  acknowledged  that  “ it  was 
considered  that  they  [women]  were  without  un- 
derstanding.” Japan  thereupon  set  on  foot  a 
great  social  revolution  in  giving  women  an  edu- 
cation. A year  after  the  Emperor  had  granted 
permission  to  Japanese  young  women  to  study 
in  America,  Marquis  Ito,  a member  of  the  World’s 
Embassy,  speaking  in  San  Francisco,  said:  “ By 

educating  our  women  we  hope  to  insure  greater 
intelligence  in  future  generations.  With  this  end 
in  view,  our  maidens  have  already  commenced 
to  come  to  you  for  their  education.” 2 

The  example  of  missionary  educators  in  Japan 
had  a powerful  influence  on  the  Government,  in 
the  days  when  woman’s  education  was  a mooted 
question.  As  early  as  1867,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Hepburn 
was  teaching  Japanese  girls  at  Yokohama.  In 


1 Intercourse  of  United  States  and  Japan,  pp.  180,  181. 

2 Japanese  in  America,  p.  14. 


46  Influence  of  Missionaries 

1870,  Mrs.  Carrothers  began  her  work  in  Tokio. 
Miss  Kidder  followed  Mrs.  Hepburn  in  Yoko- 
hama, and  the  Ferris  Seminary  was  established. 
When  the  Kobe  Girls’  college  was  planted  in 
1878,  the  Japanese  gave  $1,000  towards  the  first 
building.  This  college  has  had  a remarkable 
history,  and  is  the  foremost  Christian  college  for 
women  in  Japan.  So  much  enthusiasm  had  been 
aroused  by  missionary  teachers  and  others  that 
the  Empress  Haruku  came  forward  as  a promi- 
nent patroness  of  higher  education  for  Japanese 
women. 

The  interest  taken  in  woman’s  education  con- 
tinued and  so  radical  was  the  change  of  opinion 
in  regard  to  its  advisability,  that  the  Minister  of 
State  for  Education  said,  in  his  official  report  of 
1890:  “In  short,  female  education  is  the  source 

from  which  general  education  should  be  diffused 
over  the  whole  country;  ” and  at  about  the  same 
time  the  Peeresses’  School  had  364  daughters  of 
the  nobility  under  instruction;  the  elementary 
course  of  study  extended  over  six  years,  and  the 
middle  course  for  a like  period. 

We  must  now  note  the  national  effect  of 
the  new  policy  in  regard  to  women.  In  the 
elementary  school  system,  the  obligation  has 
been  equally  imposed  on  boys  and  girls  to 
attend  school.  The  system  was  organized  in 
1872,  and  governmental  education  of  women  be- 
gan. Within  ten  years  there  were  942,000  girls 
in  the  common  schools,  and  in  the  second  dec- 
ade the  number  reached  1,500,000.  This  meant 


Women  Students 


47 

a very  great  advance,  and  in  itself  was  encourag- 
ing, yet  only  a beginning  had  been  made. 

Of  the  total  number  of  girls  who  should  have 
been  in  school  in  1890,  but  thirty-one  per  cent, 
were  in  attendance;  in  1895,  the  per  cent,  had 
risen  to  forty-four,  and  in  1896,  to  forty-seven. 
But  even  then  it  included  less  than  half  the 
girls  whose  attendance  the  law  required.  The 
difficulty  of  making  the  people  actually  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  female  education  is  strikingly 
shown  by  the  fact  that  after  twenty  years  of  ex- 
perience, seventy-nine  per  cent,  of  the  boys  of 
school  age  were  under  instruction,  but  only 
forty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  girls. 

In  the  forty-seven  normal  schools  of  Japan,  the 
male  teachers  and  students  have  greatly  predomi- 
nated. In  a given  year  there  were  5,600  men, 
but  only  738  women  studying  to  be  teachers. 
The  Higher  Female  Normal  School  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Government  for  advanced  work. 
This  school  is  divided  into  four  distinct  sections; 
the  Higher  Normal  School  proper,  a higher 
Female  School,  an  Elementary  School,  and  a 
Kindergarten.  The  result  of  this  plan  is  that  the 
students  in  the  advanced  normal  school  get 
practical  training  as  teachers  in  the  other  three 
schools,  simultaneously  with  their  theoretical 
instruction.  The  institution  enrolls  a total  of 
about  2,000  students. 

Japanese  women  were  offered  the  advantages 
of  a broad  general  education,  and  higher  female 
schools,  somewhat  corresponding  to  American 


Studies  for  Girls 


48 

women’s  colleges  have  been  established.  Be- 
tween 1885  and  1890,  the  number  of  private 
higher  schools  for  women  greatly  increased,  and 
after  1890  the  private  schools  greatly  decreased, 
while  the  government  institutions  maintained  a 
steady  growth.  At  the  end  of  the  first  ten  years 
of  experimentation  there  were  over  2, 500  students 
in  the  fourteen  higher  women’s  schools,  and  the 
number  has  now  increased  to  over  n.ooo.1  In 
1890  foreign  teachers  are  reported,  but  none  five 
years  later,  Japanese  having  been  substituted  for 
them. 

The  course  of  study  extends  over  five  years, 
with  twenty-five  hours  of  prescribed  work  each 
week,  including  however  such  relaxing  subjects 
as  household  management,  singing,  and  gym- 
nastics. It  is  interesting  to  think  of  hundreds  of 
Japanese  girls  attacking  year  by  year  such  a cur- 
riculum as  is  here  outlined: 


Morals 

1 hour  a week  for 

5 years 

Japanese  Language 

4 “ 

H ii 

a 

English  “ 

6 “ 

ii  it 

a 

4 years,  2 hours 

Mathematics  J 

3 “ 

ii  it 

a 

and  Science  / 

for  1 year 

Geography  j 
and  History  ( 

2 “ 

a a 

a 

4 years 

Household  1 

4 “ 

a it 

“ 

3 “ 

Management  j 

6 “ 
8 “ 

a a 

Si 

I year 
x “ 

Writing  and  J 

3 “ 

a a 

a 

3 years 

Drawing  J 

2 “ 

a a 

ts 

2 “ 

Singing  j 

2 « 
1 « 

a u 

a a 

a 

4 “ 

1 year 

Gymnastics 

2j  “ 

a u 

a 

5 years 

1 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  3. 


49 


Progress  and  Criticisms 

Considering  the  former  status  of  women  in 
Japan  the  efforts  to  provide  modern  education 
were  painstaking  and  fruitful.  But  there  was 
still  much  to  be  accomplished.  The  Minister 
of  State  for  Education  wrote,  in  1885,  “ In 
general,  female  education  was  not  making  satis- 
factory progress.”  In  1890,  he  again  called 
attention  to  the  matter,  saying,  “If  those  con- 
cerned in  educational  matters  were  to  direct  their 
efforts  to  the  development  of  female  education,  a 
great  and  general  improvement  could  be  reason- 
ably looKed  for  in  a few  years.”  The  establish- 
ment in  1901  of  an  independent  Women’s  Uni- 
versity marked  a great  advance  not  only  in  the 
belief  in  the  training  of  women,  but  also  in  the 
practical  efforts  of  Japanese  for  Japanese. 

Although  this  education  is  now,  and  is  to  con- 
tinue, a mighty  social  force,  yet  severe  criticisms 
have  been  made  of  the  methods  employed,  and 
their  effect  on  Japanese  young  women.  A con- 
densed statement  in  the  Japan  Mail  seems  to  sum 
up  the  criticisms  of  the  opposition;  “Vitiated 
tastes,  loss  of  refinement  of  manner,  undue  for- 
wardness, conceit,  unfitness  for  the  duties  of 
married  life,  and  in  some  cases  looseness  of 
morals  are  alleged  to  be  the  fruits  of  modern 
training.”1  It  is  granted  that,  in  every  country, 
the  school  may  fail  to  make  a philosopher  of  a 
dunce,  or  to  make  a Dorcas  of  a Deborah;  it  un- 
doubtedly has  “turned”  many  heads,  male  as 
well  as  female;  but  judging  the  school  by  its 

1 Japan  Mail , October  loth,  1891. 


5<d  Woman’s  Status  Changing 

average  product,  it  does  not  deserve  this  sweep- 
ing criticism.  Western  education  will  inevitably 
change  the  social  status  of  women,  and  with  this 
change  will  come  the  overturn  of  many  former 
customs.  Conditions  are  arising  in  Japan  vary- 
ing from  that  which  Professor  Chamberlain 
described:  “At  the  present  moment,  the  great- 

est duchess  or  marchioness  in  the  land  is  still  her 
husband’s  drudge.  She  fetches  and  carries  for 
him;  bows  down  humbly  in  the  hall  when  her 
lord  sallies  forth;  waits  upon  him  at  his  meals.”  1 
There  must  be  a readjustment  to  a better  state  of 
affairs,  but  not  the  loss  of  a single  essential  ele- 
ment in  woman’s  strength  or  usefulness  to  the 
state,  the  family,  or  to  herself. 

Miss  Bacon,  who  shared  the  life  of  the  Japanese 
girls  in  a prominent  school,  and  who  had  more 
than  a superficial  glance  at  women’s  education 
finds  much  to  praise  in  the  effort  now  making  in 
Japan. 

The  objections  to  the  more  advanced  education 
of  women  in  Japan  have  a striking  similarity  to 
those  formerly  insisted  on  in  America  and  Eng- 
land. The  best  reply  to  them  is  the  quiet  answer 
which  education,  year  by  year,  is  itself  giving. 
Criticism  prunes  the  educational  tree,  but  does 
not  cut  it  down. 

1 Quoted  in  American  Missionary  to  Japan,  p.  176. 


VI 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  AND  MORAL  PROBLEMS 

IT  is  argued,  in  some  Western  lands,  that 
government  education  should  not  be  con- 
nected in  any  way  with  religious  teaching; 
that  the  propagation  of  Christian  truth  is  the 
work  of  the  Church,  whose  agents  and  agencies 
are  not  controlled  by  the  State. 

The  leaders  of  the  student  Christian  organi- 
zations have  studied  the  government  colleges  in 
Christian  lands,  and  have  carried  out  plans 
whereby  Christianity  and  education  shall  not  be 
divorced  in  the  lives  of  students,  though  they 
may  be  in  class  rooms.  In  a non-Christian  land, 
however,  State  education  raises  greater  moral  and 
religious  problems.  What  is  the  effect  of  secular 
education  in  Japan  on  morals,  where  Buddhism 
and  Confucianism  are  losing  their  hold,  and  where 
Christianity  has  not  yet  gripped  the  nation  ? Jap- 
anese authorities  on  this  question  should  be  sought 
in  order  that  there  may  be  no  misconception  of 
the  real  situation. 

Mr.  Inago  Nitobe,  in  a book  published  by 
Johns  Hopkins’  University,  says  of  the  religious 
affiliations  of  Japanese  who  go  abroad  for  ad- 
vanced studies,  “As  to  religion  in  any  form  or 
with  any  formula,  it  has  for  years  been  at  a dis- 
5i 


52 


God  or  Gods  ? 


count  in  Japan.  No  Japanese,  therefore,  takes 
with  him  to  the  States  any  ‘strange  gods.’  Few 
indeed,  except  those  who  become  Christians  at 
home  come  with  any  definite  religious  conviction. 
In  America,  however,  few  can  long  be  blind  to 
the  existence  of  a mighty  social  force  in  relig- 
ion.”1 Although  Marquis  Ito  acknowledges  that 
“ Japan’s  chief  source  of  danger,”  over  which  he 
has  “long  felt  great  uneasiness,”  “is  in  her  ris- 
ing manhood,”  yet  he  boldly  asserts  that  he  does 
“not  regard  Japan’s  almost  universal  atheism  as 
a peril  to  the  community,”  for  “science  is  far 
above  superstition,  and  what  is  Buddhism  or 
Christianity  but  a superstition,  and  therefore  a 
source  of  weakness,  rather  than  of  strength  to  a 
nation.” 

Prof.  Basil  Chamberlain,  of  the  Imperial  Uni- 
versity, is  quoted  as  saying  that  Buddhism  has 
lost  its  hold  on  all  but  the  lower  classes.  The 
upper  classes  give  it  little  serious  consideration, 
thinking  it  “comes  into  play  only  at  funeral  serv- 
ices.” 

The  Government  of  Japan  has  found  it  neces- 
sary to  publicly  reprimand  the  Buddhistic  system 
for  the  immorality  of  its  priesthood.  Confucian 
philosophy,  sociology,  and  statecraft  have  had  a 
great  fall  from  their  former  high  place.  Con- 
fucius is  a deserted  leader,  inconspicuous  among 
the  many  heroes  whom  Japan  has  crowned. 
Even  Seido,  the  historic  temple  of  Confucius  in 
Tokio,  has  been  appropriated  for  an  educational 

1 Intercourse  of  the  United  States  and  Japan,  p.  175. 


Student  Vices 


53 


museum.  The  old  religions  exercise  no  moral 
power  over  the  student  class  of  Japan,  and  relig- 
ious teaching  is  not  allowed  in  the  curricula  of 
the  new  government  institutions.  How,  then, 
does  the  Japanese  youth  succeed  in  his  great  bat- 
tle against  the  “ flesh  and  the  devil  ” ? 

Mr.  Neesima  was  asked,  in  his  home  at  Kioto, 
what  was  the  greatest  impression  made  on  him 
in  England.  He  replied,  “ The  drunkenness,  and 
the  innocent  faces  of  the  children.” 1 The  reply 
was  at  once  a condemnation  of  social  evils  in 
both  lands. 

It  was  also  Mr.  Neesima’s  conviction  that  “In 
Japan,  schools  are  generally  most  dangerous 
places  for  young  men  if  there  be  no  teaching  of 
Christianity.  Materialistic  influences  are  insepa- 
rably combined  with  licentious  practice.” a Every 
country  has  its  ‘besetting  sins,’  and  a scholarly 
Japanese  remarked  of  his  country  that  “ lying 
and  licentiousness”  were  its  chief  evils.  Count 
Inoye  stated  in  an  interview,  that  there  was  no 
doubt  that  the  morals  of  the  students  in  Christian 
colleges  in  Japan  were  much  better  than  those  of 
students  in  government  colleges. 3 

The  “Soshi”  is  a product  of  semi-education 
and  invites  an  interesting  comparison  with  the 
student  Nihilist  of  Russia,  or  Socialist  of  other 
lands.  The  Soshi  is  a half  educated  Japanese 

1 Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan,  vol.  2,  p.  235. 

5 Neesima’s  letter  to  American  Board,  quoted  by  Hardy,  p. 
271. 

3 An  American  Missionary  in  Japan,  p.  233. 


54 


The  Soshi 


youth,  whose  tribe  increased  after  1885  until  at 
times  he  has  been  unpleasantly  conspicuous. 
Believing  in  the  old  Confucian  principle  that  men 
were  educated  to  hold  office,  and  receiving  no 
post  himself,  nor  his  fellows,  he  has  gone  at 
large  with  “ bludgeon  and  knife  in  hand.”  He  is 
an  adept  in  politics  though  having  no  vote,  and 
often  plays  the  role  of  gallery  god  at  political 
meetings.  He  has  no  right  as  a tax-payer,  but 
among  the  working  classes  he  wields  a powerful 
socialistic  influence.  He  is  an  adept  forger,  and 
he  commits  personal  assault  upon  the  great  men 
of  state.  One  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  run 
through  the  files  of  Japanese  periodicals  will  be 
surprised  to  see  what  a dangerous  as  well  as 
prominent  figure  the  Soshi  has  occasionally  been.1 

Bishop  Evington  of  Japan  stated  in  London,  in 
1894,  that  education  pure  and  simple  had  not 
bettered  the  morals  of  Japan,  and  it  was  the  ap- 
preciation of  this  deficiency  that  led  the  Emperor 
in  1890  to  issue  his  Imperial  Rescript  on  Morals 
in  Education.  He  tried  to  avoid  adopting  any 
system  of  religious  teaching,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  gather  up  such  moral  instruction  as  he 
thought  should  guide  the  student  class  of  Japan. 
As  the  Rescript  supplies  no  power  to  live  the  life 
which  it  recommends  it  becomes  only  a morali- 
zation.  This  document  is  the  basis  of  all  moral 

1 Japan  Mail,  1891,  pp.  33,  57,  61,  88,  180,  181,  303,  470, 
541,  572.  Japan  Mail , 1893,  PP-  7>  lr>  638,  703.  Japan 
Mail,  1894,  pp.  757,  etc.,  etc.  Yankees  of  the  East,  vol.  2,  pp. 
394-5.  Things  Japanese,  p.  128. 


The  Imperial  Rescript  55 

teaching  in  government  schools,  and  is  read  and 
reread  to  the  students.  After  the  prologue, 
which  deals  with  the  permanency  and  glory  of  the 
Empire,  the  Emperor  states  the  source  of  the  ed- 
ucational idea.  Then  follows  instructions  to 
members  of  families,  exhortations  as  to  social 
duties,  studies,  moral  feelings,  and  a glowing  ap- 
peal for  patriotism.  It  closes  with  a tribute  to 
the  ancestors  of  the  Emperor,  who  have  be- 
queathed such  principles  of  conduct  to  the  na- 
tion. The  Rescript  reads: 

“ The  founder  of  Our  Imperial  House,  and  Our 
other  Imperial  Ancestors,  laid  the  foundation  of 
Our  Empire  on  a grand  and  everlasting  basis, 
and  deeply  implanted  the  virtues  to  be  ever 
cherished. 

“ The  goodness  of  Our  subjects,  displayed  gen- 
eration after  generation  in  loyalty  and  piety,  and 
harmonious  cooperation,  constitutes  the  funda- 
mental character  of  our  Country;  and  from  this 
the  principles  of  education  for  Our  subjects  have 
been  derived. 

“Do  you,  Our  subjects,  be  filial  to  your  par- 
ents, kind  to  your  brothers,  harmonious  in  your 
relations  as  husbands  and  wives,  and  faithful  to 
your  friends;  let  your  conduct  be  courteous  and 
frugal,  and  love  others  as  yourselves,  attend  to 
your  studies  and  practice  your  respective  call- 
ings, cultivate  your  intellectual  faculties  and  train 
your  moral  feelings,  foster  the  public  weal,  and 
promote  the  interest  of  society,  ever  render  strict 
obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  to  all  the  laws 


56  The  Imperial  Rescript 

of  Our  Empire,  display  your  public  spirit  and 
your  courage  on  behalf  of  Our  Country,  when- 
ever required,  and  thereby  give  Us  your  support 
in  promoting  and  maintaining  the  honor  and 
prosperity  of  Our  Empire  which  is  coeval  with 
the  Heavens  and  the  Earth. 

“ Such  conduct  on  your  part  will  not  only  be 
what  is  fitting  in  Our  good  and  loyal  subjects, 
but  will  also  suffice  to  make  manifest  the  cus- 
toms and  manners  bequeathed  to  you  by  our  an- 
cestors. 

“These  instructions  bequeathed  to  Us  by  Our 
Imperial  Ancestors,  to  indicate  the  course  of  con- 
duct which  We  and  Our  subjects  are  bound  to 
pursue,  have  been  of  unfailing  validity  in  all 
ages  past  as  in  the  present,  and  in  all  countries 
whatever. 

“Consequently  We  trust  that  neither  We  nor 
Our  subjects  shall  at  any  time  fail  to  observe 
faithfully  these  sacred  principles.” 

“ Given  at  Our  Palace  in  Tokio  this  30th  day  of 
the  10th  month  of  the  23d  year  of  Meiji.” 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  Renaissance 
was  incomplete  without  the  Reformation,  and 
the  Reformation  came.  There  are  indications 
that  in  Japan  the  Western  learning  which  has 
been  adopted  will  receive  its  complement  and 
without  the  compulsory  teaching  of  Christianity. 
Since  the  students  forsook  their  “false  gods” 
they  have  been  in  a non-religious  if  not  anti-re- 
ligious state  of  mind  and  the  forces  of  immorality 
have  had  free  access  to  them.  Although  we 


A CROUr  OF  CHRISTIAN  JAPANESE  STUDENTS. 

THE  LEADERS  OF  THE  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS  MEET  IN 
SUMMER  FOR  A JAPANESE  “ NORTUFIELP.” 


57 


Christianity  in  Colleges 

would  expect  to  find  Christianity  weakest  in  the 
colleges  yet  here  it  is  proving  to  have  its  strong- 
est hold.  The  Christian  students  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  Christian  colleges  have  formed  them- 
selves into  a national  alliance.  Nearly  all  the 
higher  institutions  of  learning  in  Japan  are  repre- 
sented in  this  Students’  Christian  Association.  It 
is  managed  by  a Central  Committee,  officered  by 
the  leading  Christian  educators,  and  its  in- 
terdenominational character  makes  a strong  ap- 
peal to  the  Japanese  student.  After  making  a 
careful  examination  of  the  religious  status  in  the 
higher  government  colleges,  this  organization  re- 
ports that,  of  Japanese  students,  one  in  seventy 
is  a Christian  communicant.  In  comparison  with 
this  it  should  be  stated  that  of  the  total  popula- 
tion of  Japan  but  one  in  one  thousand  is  a Chris- 
tian. The  percentage  of  the  Government  student 
class  who  are  Christians  is,  therefore,  far  higher 
than  that  of  the  people  in  general.  Educated 
men  in  the  East  more  easily  break  away  from 
superstition  and  more  readily  accept  Christianity 
than  ignorant  men.  There  is  a similar  status  of 
affairs  in  America  where  of  the  whole  male  pop- 
ulation not  more  than  one  man  in  ten  is  a com- 
municant. In  the  colleges  and  universities  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  one  man  out  of  every 
two  is  a communicant.  This  statement  is  based 
on  returns  from  356  colleges  and  universities. 
In  the  autumn  of  1901,  Mr.  John  R.  Mott  gave 
a series  of  addresses  at  the  Japanese  seats  of 
learning  and  over  1,000  students  and  professors 


Influential  Christians 


58 

publicly  accepted  Jesus  Christ.  When  taken  in 
all  its  bearings  this  was  the  most  remarkable 
evangelistic  campaign  among  students  ever  con- 
ducted in  East  or  West. 

But  the  evidences  are  easily  found  that  Chris- 
tianity has  made  progress  among  all  classes  in 
the  Japanese  Empire.  A semi-official  daily  paper 
in  Tokio  is  owned  and  edited  by  Japanese.  It  is 
issued  six  times  a week  only,  there  is  no  Monday 
issue,  for  the  staff  does  not  work  on  Sunday. 
The  Imperial  Government  which  has  adopted 
the  Christian  Calendar,  recognizes  Sunday  as  a 
rest  day  and  all  offices  are  closed.  Following 
this  example  many  Japanese  banks  and  com- 
mercial houses  decline  to  do  business  on  Sunday. 
When  Japan  set  about  the  reorganization  of  af- 
fairs in  Korea,  at  the  close  of  the  China  war,  two 
Japanese  clergymen  were  entrusted  with  the  task 
of  preparing  the  way  for  modern  education  in 
Korea.  One  who  meets  prominent  Japanese 
Christians  is  impressed  with  their  capability.  To 
have  produced  such  men  is  not  a small  begin- 
ning for  the  young  Church  of  Christ  in  Japan. 
Christianity  from  the  first  found  its  adherents  in 
the  strong  Samurai  class  and  numbered  among 
the  Christians  have  been  a Chief  Justice  of  the 
Empire,  a Speaker  of  the  National  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, a Minister  to  Germany,  the  wife  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army,  not  to 
mention  others;  and  Christianity  in  Japan  is  not 
fifty  years  old. 

In  1899-1900,  the  relationship  of  religious 


59 


Kabayama’s  Order 

teaching  to  government  schools  and  colleges,  as 
well  as  to  private  schools,  became  a pressing 
question.  The  Educational  Department  issued 
the  following  order: 

“It  being  essential  from  the  point  of  view  of 
educational  administration,  that  general  educa- 
tion should  be  independent  of  religion,  religious 
instructions  must  not  be  given,  or  religious  cere- 
monies performed,  at  Government  Schools,  Pub- 
lic Schools,  or  schools  whose  curricula  are  regu- 
lated by  provisions  of  law,  even  outside  the 
regular  course  of  instruction. 

(signed)  “ Count  Kabayama, 

“Minister  of  State  for  Education.” 

This  educational  order  affected  all  the  higher 
grade  Christian  schools,  as  these  were  practically 
the  only  schools  regulated  by  law  which  were 
founded  with  a distinctly  religious  purpose.  It 
is  considered  essential  that  these  schools  submit 
their  curricula  to  the  Government,  as  otherwise 
their  students  would  be  subject  to  army  conscrip- 
tion, or  desiring  to  pursue  more  advanced 
studies,  would  be  refused  admission  to  the 
higher  government  colleges  of  the  Empire. 

The  action  of  the  Government  therefore 
seemed  directed  at  Christian  schools.  Represent- 
atives from  six  of  these  institutions  memorialized 
the  Department  of  Education  to  the  effect  that, 
(i)  it  is  a conviction  of  conscience  with  the 
friends  of  Christian  schools  that  “instruction  in 
religion  is  essential  to  education,  both  as  a mat- 


6o 


Protests  of  Christians 


ter  of  knowledge,  and  also  as  the  most  effective 
incentive  to  right  living.”  (2)  The  Christian 
schools  were  organized  especially  to  give  Chris- 
tian teaching,  and  as  these  schools  are  recog- 
nized by  law,  and  as  in  no  other  Japanese  schools 
so  recognized  is  there  any  religious  teaching, 
therefore  this  educational  order  was  aimed  di- 
rectly at  Christianity.  (3)  That  the  support  of 
Christian  education  in  Japan  is  largely  received 
from  England  and  America,  and  the  schools 
must  be  closed  rather  than  compromise  con- 
science in  order  to  accede  to  the  Government’s 
position.  (4)  The  remonstrants  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  authorities  to  the  fact  that  this  “ peti- 
tion has  its  foundation  in  the  religious  liberty 
which  is  assured  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Em- 
pire.” 

Count  Kabayama  replied  to  this,  and  to  other 
protests,  that  he  recognized  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing moral  instruction  in  the  colleges  of  Japan  and 
he  acknowledged  that  the  young  men  are  now 
on  a lower  ethical  plane  than  were  the  young 
men  of  the  last  generation.  But  the  Count  was 
strongly  of  the  opinion  that  education  must  not 
be  mixed  with  religion.  The  Christian  educators 
also  urged  that  Church  and  State  should  be  sepa- 
rate, but  they  argued,  that  Christian  schools  are 
in  no  way  supported  by  the  State,  and  being 
privately  founded  they  should  be  allowed  to 
teach  religious  subjects  as  they  like,  providing 
their  general  curricula  are  satisfactory  to  the 
Government. 


1’llES.  K.  IB  UK  A.  PRES.  Y.  HONDA. 

I [ 10  A I > OK  MKIJI  (JAQUIN  AND  VICE-CIl  AIRM  AN  HEAD  OK  AOVAMA  COLLEGE.  AND  (’II  AIRMAN 

WORLD'S  STUDENT  CHRISTIAN  FEDERATION.  OK  NATIONAL  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


6i 


Religious  Liberty  Secured 

In  connection  with  this  educational  problem, 
the  Vice-Minister  of  Education,  Mr.  Okuda,  an- 
nounced a strange  interpretation  of  that  clause  in 
the  National  Constitution  which  guarantees  re- 
ligious liberty.  He  held  that,  though  the  consti- 
tution allows  liberty  to  believe  any  religion,  yet 
this  does  not  necessarily  mean  liberty  to  propa- 
gate it ! But  the  Japanese  Diet  has  since  passed 
an  act  which  puts  all  religions  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing of  freedom. 

Count  Kabayama  took  an  unnecessary  and  an 
unwarranted  position  in  this  whole  matter,  and 
with  a change  in  administration  which  is  an  ex- 
pected circumstance  in  Japanese  official  life,  the 
question  assumed  a satisfactory  aspect. 

“ The  power  of  common  schools  to  redeem 
the  State  from  social  vices  and  crimes”  was 
ably  discussed  by  the  great  American  educator, 
Hon.  Horace  Mann.  He  believed  that  education 
has  a direct  bearing  on  national  health,  for  “ more 
than  one-half  of  all  the  pains  and  expenditures 
of  sickness,  more  than  one-half  of  all  the  cases 
of  premature  death — that  is  of  death  under  the 
age  of  seventy  years — are  the  consequence  of 
sheer  ignorance — of  our  own  brutish  ignorance 
of  the  conditions  of  health  and  life  to  which  our 
bodies  have  been  subject  by  their  Maker.”  He 
not  only  believed  that  “worldly  prosperity”  de- 
pends upon  education,  for  “an  ignorant  people 
not  only  is  but  must  be  a poor  people,”  but  that 
the  “renovation  of  society”  is  a concomitant. 
The  State  has  a sacred  obligation  to  teach  “the 


62  Education  and  Morals 

principles  of  piety,  justice,  and  a sacred  regard 
for  truth,  love  to  country,  humanity,  and  uni- 
versal benevolence,  sobriety,  industry  and  fru- 
gality, chastity,  moderation  and  temperance” 
and  this  must  be  done  without  turning  her  classic 
halls  into  “ proselytizing  institutions.”  Japan 
must  impress  her  people  by  positive,  zealous, 
moral  teaching,  with  the  principles  of  high  liv- 
ing, of  true  manhood,  with  reverence  for  truth 
and  for  purity.  The  Government  will  not  be 
taken  seriously  in  teaching  morals  if  Prime  Min- 
isters or  other  officials  dear  to  the  popular  heart, 
are  examples  of  personal  immorality.  Rever- 
ence for  the  Emperor  will  instill  patriotism,  and 
reverence  for  forefathers  will  quicken  filial  piety, 
but  morality,  probity  and  truthfulness  are  not  as 
a rule  self-generated  nor  greatly  promoted  by 
hero  worship. 


VII 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

THE  little  red  schoolhouse  conveys  mem- 
ories and  stands  for  a type  of  vigorous 
elementals  to  the  American  mind.  No 
shade  of  paint  or  type  of  building  has  become 
thus  characteristic  of  the  Japanese  Gakko,  but 
everywhere  the  vizored  cap  designates  and  classi- 
fies a new  type  of  youth. 

Elementary  schools  of  two  grades,  ordinary 
and  higher,  are  “designed  to  give  children  the 
rudiments  of  moral  education,  and  of  education 
especially  adapted  to  make  of  them  good  mem- 
bers of  the  community,  together  with  such  gen- 
eral knowledge  and  skill  as  are  necessary  for 
practical  life,  due  attention  being  paid  to  their 
physical  development.”1  The  course  of  study 
in  the  ordinary  grade  must  cover  three  years,  and 
may  cover  four,  while  in  the  higher  department 
of  the  common  schools,  the  course  varies  from 
two  to  four  years  in  length.  The  schools  are 
supported  by  the  cities,  towns  or  villages,  or  by 
several  villages  in  conjunction.  Private  individ- 
uals may  establish  schools  from  their  own  means, 
and,  as  an  example,  in  1896,  there  were  539 

1 Government  Report,  1896,  p.  28. 

63 


School  Children 


64 

such  schools,  as  against  26,294  supported  by 
the  public.  Elementary  agriculture  has  been  in- 
troduced as  a study  for  boys,  and  sewing  and 
needlework  are  taught  the  girls  in  over  4,000  ele- 
mentary schools. 

The  school  age  is  a period  of  eight  years,  from 
the  sixth  to  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  child’s 
life.  Each  city,  town  and  village  appoints  its 
own  school  directors  and  inspectors.  The  sys- 
tem was  first  upon  the  American  basis,  but  was 
remodelled  in  1886,  and  again  in  1890. 

One  of  the  first  tests  to  put  to  a national  com- 
mon school  system  is  its  relation  to  the  school 
population.  In  1885,  50.50  per  cent,  of  the 
school  population  were  under  instruction;  in 
1895,  61.24  Per  cent. ; and  in  1900,  more  than  81 
per  cent.  This  effective  school  system  raised  the 
per  centage  of  youth  under  instruction  from  50 
to  80  in  fifteen  years.1  The  present  numerical 
status  compared  favorably  with  that  in  the  United 
States.2  The  quality  of  the  instruction  in  the 
two  lands,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  was  not 
comparable. 

There  is  a compulsory  educational  law  in  Ja- 


1 See  Chart  No.  IV.  See  Appendix,  Table  No.  5. 

* Comparative  figures  may  be  given  for  the  United  States. 
In  1870  per  cent,  under  instruction  was  61.45 


1879 

1889 

1892 

1897 

1900 


65-5° 

68.61 

69.10 

69.50 

68.93 


School  Attendance  65 

pan,  and  school  committees,  with  parents  and 
guardians,  are  required  to  enforce  attendance 
except  in  certain  cases  of  sickness  and  poverty. 
Of  those  who  did  not  attend  the  prescribed 
course  in  1896,  over  500,000  were  excused  from 
attending,  1,500,000  were  prevented  by  poverty, 
and  more  than  1,000,000  by  sickness  and  other 
causes.  Over  3,000,000  children  were  thus  ac- 
counted for  as  not  in  school.  Nearly  half  of 
those  who  were  out  of  school,  though  of  school 
age,  were  deterred  by  poverty.  Japanese  parents 
are  more  likely  to  keep  the  girls  than  the  boys 
from  school  privileges,  in  case  both  cannot  well 
be  spared  from  home  duties.  This  is  strikingly 
shown  by  the  fact  that  to  poverty  and  sickness 
the  responsibility  is  laid  for  the  absence  from 
school  privileges  of  31.46  per  cent,  more  girls 
than  boys,  in  proportion  to  their  number. 

An  important  element  in  the  success  or  failure 
of  a national  scheme  of  education  is  the  attitude 
of  the  public  towards  the  system,  which  is  espe- 
cially true  where  a central  government  imposes 
a foreign  regime  on  its  own  people.  This  Ori- 
ental nation  has  demonstrated  its  faith  in  the  new 
education  in  no  more  significant  manner  than  in 
voluntary  contributions  of  money. 

In  1880,  Miss  I.  L.  Bird  wrote  that,  during  the 
preceding  five  years,  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  the  Japanese  people  towards  popular  educa- 
tion amounted  to  ,£1,700,000.  For  1896  these 
gifts  reached  750,000  yen,  and  their  continuance 
year  by  year  shows  that  the  popular  heart  is  in 


66 


Taxes  and  Fees 


sympathy  with  the  educational  enterprise.  The 
free  gifts  of  money  were  in  addition  to  the 
taxes  for  the  same  purpose.  Besides  money, 
in  a single  year,  the  people  contributed  for  edu- 
cational purposes  30,638  tsubo  of  land,  14,023 
copies  of  books,  and  15,707  pieces  of  apparatus. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  practical  working 
of  tuition  fees.  The  fixed  fee  for  the  ordinary 
elementary  schools  has  been  sixty-two  sen  per 
month  or  about  thirty  cents,  and  in  the  higher 
elementary  schools  twenty-two  and  eight-tenths 
sen  per  month.  Of  the  4,61 5,842  common  school 
pupils  in  Japan  in  a given  year,  265,629  were 
taught  free,  118,979  were  granted  a partial,  and 
113,514,  an  entire  remission  of  fees.  The  large 
majority  of  Japanese  pupils  pay  the  regular  tu- 
ition fee;  but  parents  are  allowed  to  pay  in  kind, 
or  in  labor,  where  money  fees  are  remitted.  On 
a given  year  the  educational  tax  brought  in 
10,000.000  yen,  fees  3,300,000,  and  gifts  750,000, 
or  a total  of  about  §7,000,000  in  gold.  In  sup- 
port of  popular  education  in  Japan,  the  gifts  of 
the  people  in  money  are  more  than  one-fifth  the 
amount  realized  from  fees,  and  the  latter  are 
about  one-third  as  much  as  the  amount  of  the 
local  taxes.  As  early  as  1890,  of  the  expense  of 
1,998  schools,  more  than  half  was  met  by  fees, 
gifts  and  rents,  the  rest  being  provided  by 
taxation. 

In  England,  a law  went  into  effect  on  Septem- 
ber 1st,  1891,  which  pledged  a grant  from  Gov- 
ernment funds  of  ten  shillings  a year  for  each 


Elementary  Studies  67 

child,  over  five  and  under  fourteen  years,  in  school 
attendance.  Estimated  on  the  average  attend- 
ance, it  thus  made  two-thirds  of  the  English 
elementary  education  practically  “free.”1  In 
America,  free  elementary  schools  are  funda- 
mental in  the  educational  policy. 

In  remodelling  the  elementary  schools  in  1890, 
a division  into  “ordinary”  and  “higher”  was 
made,  and  the  subjects  prescribed  for  ordinary 
elementary  schools  were: — “Morals,  reading, 
composition,  writing,  arithmetic  and  gymnastics, 
or  (in  place  of  the  latter)  Japanese  geography, 
Japanese  history,  drawing,  singing  and  handi- 
work were  elective.”  In  the  higher  elementary 
school,  the  following  subjects  were  to  be  fol- 
lowed : — The  first  five  as  in  the  “ ordinary  ” grade, 
and,  in  addition,  Japanese  geography,  Japanese 
history,  foreign  geography,  science,  drawing, 
singing,  and  gymnastics  were  compulsory.  The 
number  of  hours  of  instruction  in  the  ordinary 
school  were  to  be  not  less  than  eighteen  nor  more 
than  thirty  per  week.2  By  Imperial  ordinance  it 
has  been  decreed  that  teachers  and  directors  shall 
not  inflict  corporal  punishment  upon  school 
children. 

A matter  of  prime  importance,  and  of  con- 
tinual and  perplexing  difficulty,  is  the  training  of 
suitable  teachers  to  instruct  the  millions  of  pupils 


1 Editorial,  Japan  Mail,  August  1st,  1891. 

2 Imperial  Ordinance,  1890,  Chapter  2.  Modern  Education 
in  Japan,  pp.  20-22. 


68 


Normal  Schools 


who  flock  to  the  Government  schools,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  fact  that  in  1901  there  was  a deficit 
of  32,000  teachers.  The  qualifications  are  radi- 
cally different  from  those  under  the  old  regime 
of  Chinese  learning.  The  code  was  promulgated 
in  1872,  and  in  1873-4,  eight  normal  schools  had 
sprung  into  existence,  and  now  there  are  fifty- 
two.  The  Government  requires  that  all  teachers 
shall  either  pass  set  examinations,  or  be  the  pos- 
sessors of  normal  school  certificates.1 

They  are  intent  on  developing  capable  teach- 
ers, and  expend  on  each  normal  student  yen  1 5 1 
a year,  while  in  the  middle  schools  the  expendi- 
ture has  been  yen  30,  and  in  the  elementary 
schools  yen  2.42  per  pupil.  In  a given  year  out 
of  58,000  teachers  in  Government  employ, 
17,000  were  graduates  of  normal  schools. 

In  the  Japanese  normal  schools  men  greatly 
predominate,  the  situation  being  the  reverse  of 
that  found  in  America.  The  regular  course  of 
study  requiring  close  application  for  a period  of 
four  years  includes  the  subjects  of  morals,  his- 
tory and  principles  of  education,  Japanese  lan- 
guage, Chinese  literature,  history  of  Japan,  foreign 
history,  geography,  Japanese  and  foreign,  mathe- 
matics (arithmetic,  geometry,  bookkeeping,  alge- 
bra), physics,  chemistry,  botany,  zoology,  physi- 
ology, mineralogy,  writing  (Chinese,  and  Japa- 
nese running-hand),  music,  gymnastics,  foreign 
languages  (reading,  grammar,  conversation,  writ- 


1 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  6. 


Qualifications  of  Teachers  69 

ing),  agriculture,  political  economy  and  manual 
work. 

Almost  three-fourths  of  the  teachers  who  are 
normal  graduates  are  between  the  ages  of  twenty- 
five  and  forty-five,  which  is  the  most  effective 
teaching  period,  and  over  half  of  the  teachers 
without  normal  training  are  between  these  ages.1 
There  are  over  80,000  teachers,  in  Government 
and  private  schools,  each  one  caring  for  sixty 
pupils.  The  average  salary  of  the  teachers  is 
yen  99.14. 

An  examination  of  Appendix,  Table  No.  8, 
furnishes  a strong  argument  for  the  normal 
school.  There  were  13,276  applicants  for  regular 
licenses  in  1896,  who  had  not  been  through  the 
normal  schools.  Of  these,  3,494  failed  to  pass 
the  State  examinations.  Of  the  2,200  normal 
graduates  who  took  examinations,  all  but  seven 
passed  and  received  licenses.  Of  the  14,530 
applicants  for  assistant’s  places,  who  had  had  no 
normal  privileges,  7,573,  or  over  half,  failed  to 
pass,  but  all  the  fifty-nine  normal  graduates  re- 
ceived permission  to  teach.  That  is,  of  all  normal 
applicants  only  seven  were  found  deficient,  while 
in  the  other  class  13,067  failed,  or  almost  half 
who  attempted  the  examinations  without  previ- 
ously taking  normal  courses. 

An  interesting  comparison  may  be  made  be- 
tween the  status  of  normal  educated  teachers  in 
the  educational  systems  of  Germany,  Switzer- 
land, New  England  and  Japan.  Considering  the 

1 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  7. 


7o 


Qualifications  of  Teachers 


very  proficient  normal  schools  of  the  two  former, 
the  showing  of  the  latter  is  not  discouraging. 

Proportion  of  Total  Number  of  School-Teachers 
Who  Are  Normal  Graduates. 


Germany  

Switzerland  . . . . 
New  England  . . . 
Japan  


Japan  is  a fraction  of  a per  cent,  in  advance  of 
New  England,  while  both  are  far  behind  Germany 
and  Switzerland.  In  these  latter  countries  all  the 


elementary  school-teachers  are  the  product  of  the 
normal  schools.  This  points  to  the  reason  which 
has  led  Japan,  of  late,  to  draw  more  help  from 
Germany  than  from  America  for  her  normal 
school  system.1 * 

It  may  prove  instructive  to  strike  a comparison 
between  the  elementary  school  status  of  various 
nations. 

Population.  School  Attendance. 


Japan5  43,045,906  4,338,069 

Great  Britain3  33,821,415  5,791,211 

France4  38,095,156  5,556,470 

India5  221,172,952  3,686,052 

United  States 6 74,000,000  15,138,715 


1 Dr.  L.  R.  Klemm,in  American  Educational  Report,  1891-2, 
vol.  1,  pp.  155,  156. 

5 Statistics  for  1896. 

3 American  Educational  Report,  1892-3,  vol.  1,  pp.  203-207. 

4 A.  Tolman  Smith  in  American  Educational  Report,  1892-3, 
vol.  1,  pp.  219-224. 

5 J.  A.  Baines,  C.  S.  I.,  quoted  in  American  Educational  Re- 
port, 1892-3,  vol.  1,  pp.  261-278.  This  population  includes 
only  British  provinces,  and  those  native  States  under  British  rule. 

6 For  1899,  Educational  Report,  p.  68. 


Qualifications  of  Teachers  71 

The  per  cent,  of  pupils  under  instruction  in 
elementary  schools  in  different  countries,  in  re- 
lation to  the  whole  population  was,  when  last 
statistics  could  be  gathered: 

Japan,  10  per  cent.;  Great  Britain,  15  per  cent.; 
France,  14.5  per  cent.;  India,  1.66  per  cent.;  and 
United  States,  20.47  Per  cent- 


VIII 


SECONDARY  AND  HIGHER  SCHOOLS 

THE  Middle  Schools  of  Japan  occupy  a 
corresponding  place  to  the  last  years  of 
the  Grammar  and  first  of  the  High  Schools 
of  America.  They  were  first  defined  in  the  code 
of  1872,  and  in  1888  a division  was  made  into 
Ordinary  and  Higher  Middle  Schools.  The  latter 
were  later  on  segregated,  and  finally  became  the 
present  Higher  Schools.  The  law  provides  that 
Ordinary  Middle  Schools  must  be  established 
either  by  the  cities  or  by  private  individuals 
rather  than  by  the  national  authorities.  There 
are  over  120  such  institutions,  enrolling  over 
40,000  students. 

The  course  of  study  extends  over  five  years, 
and  it  may  be  considered  a fixed  course  up  to  the 
fourth  year.  The  Middle  Schools  have  the  double 
purpose  of  fitting  students  for  the  “ Higher 
Schools,”  and  of  preparing  them  to  immediately 
enter  “ practical  pursuits.”  If  the  pupil  has  the 
latter  object  in  mind,  from  the  beginning  of  his 
fourth  year  he  may  elect  a supplementary  tech- 
nical course.  Provision  is  almost  made  for  the 
introduction  of  technical  studies  during  the  entire 
72 


Middle  Schools 


73 


five  years  of  study,  if  the  local  authorities  deem 
it  prudent,  when  agriculture,  industry  and  com- 
merce are  taught.  Thus  the  Japanese  lay  the 
foundation  for  their  remarkable  system  of  tech- 
nical education  in  the  preparatory  institutions. 

The  subject  most  insisted  on  in  the  secondary 
schools  is  the  English  language,  while  the  Japa- 
nese language  and  Chinese  literature,  studied  as 
related  themes,  stand  second  in  importance. 
Gymnastics  receive  more  attention  than  mathe- 
matics or  history,  and  far  more  than  ethics.1 
The  explanation  of  this  anomaly  is  in  the  fact 
that  through  physical  education  Japan  hopes 
to  increase  the  physical  vitality  of  the  people. 

The  weeding  out  process,  from  1885  to  1890, 
reduced  the  Middle  Schools  almost  half.  Then 
came  reconstruction  until  in  1896  there  were  more 
schools  than  in  1885,  with  nearly  700  more  teach- 
ers, and  25,000  more  pupils,  while  the  private 
schools  were  fewer  in  number,  smaller  in  teach- 
ing force  and  in  attendance  than  the  public 
schools.  The  average  number  of  pupils  to  each 
teacher  in  private  schools  was,  in  1900,  twenty- 
one,  and  in  public  schools  also  twenty-one.  If 
it  is  granted  that  the  teaching  is  equally  effective 
in  private  and  public  Middle  Schools,  these  two 
classes  of  institutions  offer  similar  advantages, 
but  it  will  be  contended  that  private  institutions 
have  a larger  foreign  staff,  and  are  therefore  more 
efficient.2 

1 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  9. 

2 See  Appendix,  Table  No,  10, 


74 


School  or  College 


The  Government  has  taken  pains  to  inquire 
into  the  results  of  its  secondary  education,  and 
finds  that  three-fifths  entered  higher  institutions, 
one-eleventh  entered  the  army,  and  one  twenty- 
eighth  became  teachers. 

We  now  turn  from  secondary  education,  and 
begin  to  examine  the  first  branch  of  higher  edu- 
cation in  Japan.  The  Japanese  word  “ Gakko  ” 
may  be  rendered  “School  ” or  “ College”  as  the 
translator  chooses.  In  the  English  phraseology, 
adopted  by  the  Department  of  State  for  Educa- 
tion, for  the  Japanese  terms  used  the  German 
classification  was  followed.  And  thus  the 
higher  schools  in  Japan  are  not  the  American 
high  schools,  but  more  like  the  American  col- 
leges. The  Japanese  avoid  calling  them  “ col- 
leges,” however,  in  order  to  use  that  term  for  the 
colleges  of  the  universities. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  educational  Renaissance 
in  Japan,  these  higher  schools  were  called  Higher 
Middle  Schools,  but  in  1895  they  were  dignified 
by  the  shorter  title.  They  were  designed  for  ad- 
vanced work,  the  youth  who  entered  them  set 
his  face  towards  scholarship. 

The  courses  of  study  are  not  uniform  in  these 
institutions  although  the  same  grade  of  work 
seems  to  be  required.  The  “Third  Higher 
School”  has  had  departments  of  law,  medicine 
and  engineering,  its  advanced  courses  constitu- 
ting the  beginning  of  Kioto  University.  In  the 
First,  Second,  Fourth  and  Fifth  Higher  Schools, 
the  greater  emphasis  has  been  laid  on  the  general 


ENGINEERING  COLLEGE,  TOIvIO  UNIVERSITY. 


MAIN  BUILDING  FOURTH  HIGHER  SCHOOL.  KANAGAWA. 


75 


The  Higher  Schools 

preparatory  course  for  the  University,  but  each 
has  a medical  department.  The  Sixth  Higher 
School  has  given  itself  entirely  to  courses  leading 
to  the  University.  The  period  of  study  in  the 
departments  of  law,  medicine,  or  engineering,  is 
four  years  in  length.  In  the  University  fitting- 
courses  the  time  spent  is  three  years.  The  Gov- 
ernment has  fixed  the  standard  of  entrance  exam- 
inations and  the  requirements  for  graduation, 
and  each  year  scarcely  more  than  half  of  the  ap- 
plicants are  admitted  to  the  higher  schools.  No 
degrees  are  given,  and  the  fees  vary  according  to 
the  courses  followed.  The  number  of  holidays, 
not  including  Sundays,  are  not  to  exceed  ninety, 
according  to  Imperial  decree.  Gymnasiums  are 
provided  by  the  Government.  The  most  popular 
course  of  study  in  the  higher  schools  is  that 
which  leads  to  the  University,  medicine  is  next 
in  favor,  and  law  stands  at  the  foot  of  the 
list. 

An  interesting  classification  was  made  in  1890 
of  the  students  in  the  various  higher  schools. 
Of  the  total  attendance,  seven  were  nobles,  2,049 
were  from  the  former  military  class,  and  1,926 
were  commoners. 

There  are  three  hundred  and  more  Japanese 
professors  and  only  a score  of  foreigners  on  the 
faculties  of  these  institutions,  but  no  Japanese  is 
expected  to  hold  a professorship  unless  he 
has,  at  least,  a degree  from  one  of  the  Uni- 
versity Colleges.  There  is  one  student  in  the 
higher  schools  to  about  8,000  of  the  Japa- 


76  The  Higher  Schools 

nese  population,  and  the  Government's  ex- 
penditure for  each  institution  is  about  $40,000 
per  year.1 

1 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  II. 


IX 

UNIVERSITIES 

THE  most  remarkable  factor  in  the  Japa- 
nese educational  system  is  the  University. 
There  are  at  present  two  Government 
Universities,  one  in  Tokio,  and  another  in  Kioto. 
As  the  latter  is  not  fully  developed  we  shall  limit 
our  investigation  to  the  one  in  Tokio,  the  model 
for  all  similar  institutions  to  be  established  in 
Japan.1  The  University  grew  out  of  a foreign- 
language  school  in  Tokio,  in  the  restless  days  of 
the  Restoration.  Dr.  Verbeck  made  its  develop- 
ment his  special  care,  and  in  1877,  the  present 
institution  was  organized  under  the  name  of  the 
Tokio  University,  by  the  amalgamation  of  the 
Kaisei  Gakko  and  the  Tokio  Igakko,  or  Medical 
College.  From  1877  to  1885,  the  University  had 
the  four  departments  of  law,  science,  medicine 
and  literature,  and  followed  in  general  the  Amer- 
ican plan.  In  1886,  the  University  was  re- 
modelled, new  buildings  were  built,  and  a main 
department  of  engineering  was  added,  and  in 
1890,  a College  of  Agriculture  was  organized. 
At  present  it  consists  of  a university  hall,  six 
colleges,  library,  botanical  garden,  astronomical 
observatory,  seaside  laboratory  and  two  hos- 


1 See  Chart  No.  I. 
77 


Officers  and  Studies 


78 

pitals.  The  University  from  the  first  has  stood 
for  “original  investigation,”  and  may  be  said  to 
have  largely  swung  over  to  the  German  model. 
If  the  inquirer  asks  about  the  grade  of  work  re- 
quired he  is  told  by  Japanese  that  the  entrance 
examinations  in  Tokio  University  have  been 
known  to  be  severer  than  those  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. 

The  officers  of  the  University  are  president, 
counsellors,  secretaries,  clerks.  The  counsellors 
are  appointed  by  the  minister  of  state  for  educa- 
tion, two  from  the  faculty  of  each  college. 
They  serve  for  five  years,  and  have  the  power  to 
determine  the  curriculum. 

Each  college  is  officered  by  a director,  one 
chief  professor,  professors,  assistant  professors, 
superintendents  of  dormitories  and  clerks.  In 
1885,  there  were  already  154  professors  of  whom 
eleven  were  foreigners,  and  ten  years  later  the 
number  of  Japanese  and  foreigners  had  increased 
to  1 6 1 . 

The  drift  of  university  studies  in  Japan  is  an 
index  to  the  popularity  of  the  professions.  In 
1885,  when  the  educational  idea  was  a newer 
one,  the  Medical  College  was  receiving  an  ab- 
normally large  per  cent,  of  the  students,  it  being 
three  times  the  size  of  the  next  largest  college. 
At  that  date  the  science  hall  was  largely  neg- 
lected, as  was  engineering,  while  literature  was 
not  holding  its  own. 

In  1890,  University  Hall  had  forty-seven  post- 
graduate students  at  work,  the  Colleges  of  Sci- 


Popularity  of  Courses  79 

ence  and  Engineering  had  made  a gain,  Literature 
had  lost,  and  the  newly  established  College  of 
Agriculture  had  jumped  into  first  while  Medicine 
fell  to  third  place.  In  1890,  “ Elective  studies,” 
which  could  not  be  classified  in  any  one  college, 
ceased  to  be  reported. 

In  1898  the  total  attendance  at  the  University 
was  2,463,  with  Law  the  largest  of  the  Colleges, 
while  Medicine,  Literature  and  Engineering  more 
than  maintained  their  own.1 

Of  each  one  hundred  alumni  for  five  successive 
years  Law  furnished  thirty-one,  Engineering 
twenty-six,  Literature  sixteen,  Agriculture  ten, 
Medicine  ten,  and  Science  seven.  Engineering 
made  the  most  steady  gain  during  the  five  years, 
and  Agriculture  seemed  to  be  constantly  losing. 
Science  was  the  weakest  of  them  all. 

From  the  College  of  Law,  during  the  same  five 
years,  21 1 graduated  from  the  English  law  course, 
thirteen  from  the  French,  and  forty  from  the 
German,  the  English  law  course  greatly  predomi- 
nating. In  the  College  of  Literature,  the  courses 
in  the  order  named  have  sent  out  the  most  grad- 
uates: Philosophy,  Japanese  history,  general  his- 
tory, Chinese  literature;  English  literature  and 
German  literature  have  a limited  following. 

The  University  graduates  between  three  and 
four  hundred  men  yearly,  and  in  the  list  of 
alumni  Law  is  accredited  with  the  largest  number 
of  these,  although  Engineering  and  Medicine  are 
not  far  behind.  In  the  test  year  of  1896  more 

* See  Appendix,  Tables  Nos.  12  and  13. 


80  University  Expenditure 

than  a third  of  the  three  hundred  graduates  se- 
cured government,  administrative  or  judicial  po- 
sitions, a second  third  continued  their  studies  in 
University  Hall,  or  in  the  colleges,  or  became 
teachers,  and  less  than  a third  entered  business 
houses  or  were  unemployed. 

The  University  derives  its  support  directly  from 
the  national  government,  for  it  is  the  first  care  of 
the  Mombusho.  In  1885,  the  total  expenditure 
on  the  university  and  its  colleges  was  yen 
366,458.28;  in  ten  years  the  amount  had  nearly 
doubled,  and  at  the  end  of  the  century  it  stood 
at  yen  949, 229. 1 

The  College  of  Medicine  absorbed  more  than 
three  times  the  amount  of  money  allowed  to  any 
other  of  the  colleges  or  of  the  University,  and  in 
this  regard  followed  its  German  prototype. 

The  library  of  the  University  is  for  the  use  of 
professors  and  students,  and  is  distinct  from  the 
public  library  of  Tokio.  It  contains  a total  of 
243,669  volumes,  of  which  136,926  are  in  the 
Japanese  and  Chinese  “character,”  and  106.743 
are  in  English  and  other  foreign  languages.  From 

1 It  is  instructive  to  note  the  comparative  yearly  expense  of 
the  University  Hall  and  various  Colleges : 


University  Hall, yen  54,812 

College  of  Law “ 47,4^3 

College  of  Science “ 69,000 

College  of  Engineering “ 74>°94 

College  of  Medicine, “ 259,902 

College  of  Literature,  .......  “ 57,633 

College  of  Agriculture, “ 77,365 


Total  yen, 640,269 


Courses  of  Study  81 

3,000  to  5,000  Japanese,  Chinese  and  foreign 
books  are  added  to  its  shelves  each  year. 

In  the  College  of  Medicine  four  years’  work  is 
required,  but  in  Law  no  length  of  time  is  pre- 
scribed; to  graduate  the  student  must  success- 
fully pass  three  stated  examinations  in  each 
course.  In  the  Colleges  of  Literature,  Engineer- 
ing, Science,  and  Agriculture,  three  years  is  the 
required  period  of  study.  The  course  in  Univer- 
sity Hall  after  the  college  courses  are  completed 
is  five  years  in  length. 

In  University  Hall  the  advanced  postgraduate 
work  covers  essentially  the  six  general  subjects 
for  which  the  colleges  stand.1  There  are  thirty- 
three  regular  courses  provided  at  the  colleges  of 


1 The  courses  of  study  in  the  College  of  Law  are  the  follow- 
ing : — Law,  politics,  postgraduate  course,  elective  course.  In 
the  College  of  Medicine : — Medicine,  pharmacy,  postgraduate 
course,  course  of  state  medicine,  elective  course.  In  the 
College  of  Engineering: — Civil  engineering,  mechanical  en- 
gineering, naval  architecture,  applied  chemistry,  mining  and 
metallurgy,  postgraduate  course,  elective  course.  In  the  Col- 
lege of  Literature : — Courses  are  offered  in  philosophy,  Japa- 
nese literature,  Chinese  literature,  Japanese  history,  history, 
philology,  English  literature,  German  literature,  French  lit- 
erature, postgraduate  course,  elective  course.  In  the  Col- 
lege of  Science,  the  following  courses  appear  : — Mathematics, 
astronomy,  physics,  chemistry,  zoology  and  botany,  geology, 
postgraduate  course,  elective  course.  The  College  of  Agricul- 
ture enrolls  students  in  the  following  courses  : — Agriculture, 
agricultural  chemistry,  forestry,  veterinary  science,  postgradu- 
ate course,  elective  course,  and  also  offers  a “ Junior  ” course 
in  agriculture,  forestry  and  veterinary  science. 


82  Degrees 

the  University  in  which  students  may  compete 
for  honors. 

The  highest  degree  is  conferred  on  those  who 
successfully  complete  the  prescribed  work  in 
University  Hall,  but  no  student  may  pass  into  it 
until  he  has  finished  in  the  college  of  his  choice. 
The  student  is  required  to  spend  five  years  in 
study  after  he  enters  University  Hall,  two  of 
these  years  as  a resident  postgraduate  of  the 
college  at  which  he  finished.  At  the  comple- 
tion of  this  five-year  course,  he  may  secure  the 
doctor’s  degree  of  Hakushi.  Those  who  notably 
distinguish  themselves  in  this  highest  course  may 
be  honored  with  the  Daihakushi,  which  can  be 
conferred  by  the  cabinet  only,  after  the  council 
of  Hakushi  (Doctors)  have  recommended  the 
candidate.  Daihakushi  means  literally  “Great 
Doctor.”  Upon  completion  of  the  course  in  one 
of  the  colleges,  the  degree  of  Gakushi  is  con- 
ferred upon  the  student.1 

One  who  has  been  thrown  with  Japanese  Uni- 
versity men  is  impressed  with  the  intense  earnest- 
ness with  which  they  essay  the  work  before 
them.  The  pride  which  they  naturally  take  in 
their  University  is  augmented  by  the  thought 
that  it  is  not  only  the  pinnacle  of  Japanese  edu- 
cation, but  that  it  ranks  with  many  of  the  great 

1 Outlines  of  Modern  Education  in  Japan,  p.  1 17.  Govern- 
ment Report,  1895,  P-  66.  Government  Report,  1896,  p.  77. 
Imperial  Ordinance  No.  13  (on  Degrees).  Imperial  Ordinance 
No.  3,  Art.  II,  III,  IV  (on  University).  Imperial  Ordinances, 

pp.  151-153- 


University  Characteristics  83 

seats  of  learning  in  other  lands.  In  addition  to 
public  institutions  of  the  highest  learning  the 
contested  right  of  private  foundations  to  exist 
and  to  be  respected,  has  been  decided  in  their 
favor.  Mr.  Fukuzawa’s  Keio  Gijiku,  Count 
Okuma’s  University  of  Liberal  Arts,  and  Mr. 
Naruse’s  Woman’s  University  are  equipped  with 
teachers,  buildings  and  courses  of  study  and  at- 
tended by  hundreds  of  students. 

Like  the  German  Universities,  the  Imperial 
Tokio  University  is  a compact  whole.  The  col- 
leges are  not  semi-independent  institutions;  the 
unity  and  individuality  of  the  University  is  strik- 
ingly apparent.  The  whole  tendency  of  Japa- 
nese thought  and  organization  makes  for  central- 
ization. 

The  students  are  drawn  from  all  classes  of 
society,  as  in  America  and  Germany.  There 
seems  to  be  no  special  class  of  men  who  were 
predestined  for  the  University,  but  higher  educa- 
tion has  not  been  long  enough  in  the  field  to 
permeate  the  nation.  If  the  past  thirty  years 
may  be  taken  as  a basis,  one  may  predict  the 
time  when  in  Japan  as  in  Scotland,  the  Universi- 
ties will  claim  one  student  for  every  1,000  of  the 
people. 


X 

TECHNICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGES 


HE  significance  of  Japanese  technical 


education  was  brought  to  the  front  by 


I the  suggestion  seriously  advanced  in 
London  some  time  ago  that  England  copy  the 
Japanese  technical  schools.  Mrs.  I.  Bird  Bishop 
has  remarked  that  in  the  opinion  of  many  compe- 
tent judges  Tokio  has  “ the  most  complete  and 
best  equipped  engineering  college  in  the  world.” 1 * 
The  New  York  Independent  has  said  that  “Japan 
has  had  little  difficulty  in  establishing  high  stand- 
ards for  admission  and  long  terms  of  professional 
studies.” 3 

Mr.  W.  E.  Curtis  presented,  in  1895,  a some- 
what confused  list  of  the  “scientific  schools”  in 
Japan  which  shows  if  nothing  else  the  great 
eagerness  of  the  Japanese  for  what  is  sometimes 
called  “ practical  education.”  There  were  at  that 
date  eighty-nine  so-called  “scientific  schools,” 
one  military  academy,  one  naval  academy,  one 
college  of  commerce,  one  technical  institute, 
fifty-two  commercial  colleges,  eight  telegraphic 
schools,  eleven  agricultural  schools,  nine  law 

1 Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan,  vol.  I,  p.  188. 

* The  Independent,  May  12,  1898. 


Engineering  and  Other  Colleges  85 

colleges,  six  medical  colleges,  three  veterinary 
colleges,  as  well  as  eleven  mathematical  and 
engineering  colleges.1  Electrical  courses  were 
then  conspicuously  absent. 

The  most  advanced  technical  teaching  is  given 
in  University  Hall  of  Tokio.  There  has  usually 
been  a larger  number  of  postgraduate  workers 
in  engineering  than  in  science,  but  less  than  in 
literature. 

In  the  College  of  Engineering  the  nine  courses 
are  provided  of  civil,  electrical  and  mechanical 
engineering,  naval  architecture,  technology  of 
arms,  architecture,  applied  chemistry,  technology 
of  explosives,  mining  and  metallurgy.  The 
course  of  study  extends  over  three  years,  and 
in  University  Hall  over  five  years  in  addition. 
Civil  engineering  has  sent  out  the  most  graduates 
while  mechanical  and  mining  engineering  have 
each  claimed  more  men  than  electrical  science. 

Engineering  courses  have  grown  in  popularity 
very  rapidly,  graduating  now  from  two  to  ten- 
fold more  students  than  five  years  ago,  and  the 
attendance  has  grown  from  thirty,  in  1885,  to 
over  400  at  the  present  time. 

In  addition  to  the  advanced  work  in  the  uni- 
versity and  its  colleges,  there  are  “Technical 
Schools”  teaching  agriculture,  industry  and  com- 
merce, which  enroll  about  8,000  students. 2 

In  addition  the  Higher  Commercial  School,  the 
Tokio  Technical  School,  the  Sapporo  Agricultural 

1 Yankees  of  the  East,  vol.  2,  p.  393. 

2 See  Appendix,  Table  No.  14. 


86  Training  of  Experts 

School,  the  Tokio  Fine  Arts  School,  and  the 
Osaka  Technical  School,  are  institutions  of  par- 
ticular note.  Since  Japanese  commerce  aspired 
to  world-wide  proportions,  no  more  interesting 
institution  has  been  developed  than  the  Higher 
Commercial  School.  It  deals  chiefly  with  the 
higher  branches  of  commerce,  and  Fits  its  stu- 
dents to  enter  responsible  positions  in  com- 
mercial life,  or  to  become  experts  for  commercial 
houses.  The  arrangement  is  such  as  to  afford 
a preparatory,  a main,  and  a postgraduate 
course.  One  year  is  required  in  the  First,  three 
in  the  second,  and  one  in  the  third.  In  the  main 
course,  special  stress  is  placed  on  civil  and  com- 
mercial law,  political  economy,  statistics,  Finan- 
cial administration,  commercial  science  and  prac- 
tice, commercial  geography,  and  commercial  his- 
tory and  industry. 

The  name  “Tokio  Technical  School”  does  not 
indicate  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  an- 
other institution,  nor  its  close  relationship  to  the 
trades.  The  courses  of  study  include  electrical 
mechanics,  electrical  chemistry,  industrial  econ- 
omy, industrial  hygiene,  dyeing  and  weaving. 
The  primal  object  of  the  instruction  is  to  Fit  men 
to  enter  factories  as  experts.  There  is  a constant 
and  pressing  demand  by  manufacturers  for  its 
graduates.  Manufacturing  in  Japan  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  date,  and,  it  still  being  in  the 
formative  state,  these  students  are  largely  instru- 
mental in  its  development.  The  workshops  of 
the  Tokio  Technical  School  have  attracted  gen- 


Practical  Experiments  87 

eral  attention,  for  in  them  the  students  have  done 
original  work  of  a most  valuable  character  to 
manufacturing  in  Japan.  Experiments  in  glazing 
pottery,  through  the  use  of  coal,  resulted  in  the 
glaziers  of  Japan  changing  the  baking  furnace. 
A new  blue  dye  said  to  be  superior  to  anything 
known  in  Japan  or  Britain,  was  invented,  and 
will  be  of  great  value  to  the  weaving  industry. 
The  students  devised  and  operated  a new  method 
of  weaving  certain  kinds  of  silk.  In  the  course 
in  mechanics,  successful  results  were  achieved 
in  testing  petroleum  engines,  and  determining 
the  horse-power  developed  under  various  circum- 
stances. Steam  boilers,  rollers  and  grinding  ma- 
chines have  been  constructed  in  the  workshops. 

In  connection  with  the  Tokio  Technical  School, 
there  is  an  Apprentice  School  for  the  sons  of  men 
employed  in  wood  or  metal  work.  Instruction 
is  given  in  carpentering,  joinery,  wood  modelling, 
casting,  forging,  finishing,  and  work  in  metal 
plates. 

There  are,  in  addition,  fifteen  apprentice 
schools  in  various  sections  of  the  country,  de- 
voted largely  to  the  study  of  dyeing,  weaving, 
embroidery,  tobacco  manufacture,  woodwork, 
lacquer  and  porcelain. 

In  addition  to  the  training  of  teachers  given  in 
the  regular  courses  of  the  Engineering  College, 
the  Higher  Commercial  School,  and  the  Tokio 
Technical  School,  the  Japanese  have  thought  it 
expedient  to  have  a special  school  for  training 
technical  teachers.  This  institute  is  under  the 


88 


The  Range  of  Study 

control  of  the  Director  of  the  Tokio  Technical 
School. 

Osaka  is  the  Chicago  of  Japan,  and  it  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  in  such  a centre  of  in- 
dustry there  should  be  established  a high  grade 
technical  school.  The  courses  are  four  years  in 
length,  but  as  the  school  is  comparatively  new  it 
has  scarcely  reached  full  development.  There 
are  also  Apprentice  Schools  and  Special  Technical 
Schools  and  colleges,  which  afford  additional  op- 
portunities for  study. 

Technical  education  in  Japan  begins  in  the  Ele- 
mentary Schools,  where  definite  instruction  is 
offered  in  courses  of  commerce  and  industry. 
In  the  middle  schools  courses  are  more  clearly 
outlined,  and  precise  work  is  done,  while  in  the 
higher  schools  instruction  of  a high  order  is 
given.  In  the  colleges  of  the  University,  and  in 
University  Hall,  the  student  carries  his  technical 
education  to  an  advanced  stage.  From  the 
primary  class  to  the  courses  for  doctor’s  honors 
Japan  provides  technical  instruction  for  her  sons. 

While  this  education  holds  an  important  place 
in  new  Japan,  and  while  medical,  legal  and 
literary  studies  are  essential  to  an  educational 
scheme,  yet  it  remains  to  be  said  that  agricultural 
education  should  concern  a far  larger  proportion 
of  the  population  than  either  one  of  these  other 
branches. 

In  the  Imperial  University  double  provision  is 
made  for  advanced  agricultural  study  in  the  col- 
lege of  that  art  and  in  University  Hall.  In  the 


Agricultural  Colleges  89 

doctor’s  course,  at  University  Hall,  students  are 
working  for  special  honors  in  agriculture.  The 
students  in  the  College  of  Agriculture  are  divided 
among  the  following  courses  ; agriculture,  agri- 
cultural chemistry,  forestry,  and  veterinary 
science.  Japan  needs  beside  the  few  agricultural 
specialists  many  students  who  know  the  funda- 
mentals and  who  are  not  educated  away  from 
their  calling.  Agriculture  in  Japan,  with  its 
cramped  paddy  fields,  has  little  in  common  with 
that  of  the  meadows,  fields  and  prairies  of  Amer- 
ica, yet  it  needs  the  science  practically  applied  as 
much  as  does  a western  land. 

The  thoroughly  equipped  Sapporo  College  has 
long  been  a prominent  institution  in  Japan.  It  is 
designed  to  give  both  practical  and  theoretical 
training  in  agriculture  and  engineering,  but  the 
attendance  at  the  former  course  greatly  predom- 
inates. The  farms  connected  with  the  school 
are  extensive  and  valuable.  In  1896,  10,110,000 
tsubo  of  land  were  added  to  the  property  of  the 
institution.  Beside  the  main  courses,  which 
cover  four  years  and  which  enroll  a majority  of 
the  students,  there  are  “ preparatory”  and  “ag- 
ricultural training  ” courses.  The  State  provides 
twelve  free  scholarships;  the  regular  tuition  fees 
are  fifteen  yen  per  year  for  the  main  courses,  and 
six  yen  for  the  preparatory.  The  college  has  a 
library  of  20,000  volumes. 

In  addition  to  the  advanced  courses  offered  at 
Tokio  and  Sapporo,  and  at  the  various  primary 
Agricultural  Schools,  elementary  agriculture  is 


9° 


Summation 


taught  in  the  higher  elementary  schools.  The 
length  of  this  course  varies  in  various  sections  of 
Japan  from  two  to  four  years,  and  there  has  been 
a great  increase  in  the  number  of  schools  which 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  enroll 
agricultural  classes. 


SUMMATION. 

Japanese  eclecticism  has  tried  to  appropriate 
the  century-old  achievements  of  Western  lands, 
their  innate  tendencies  of  research,  composition, 
discovery,  invention,  and  production.  Through 
languages  which  she  has  not  mastered  she  has 
struggled  with  ideas  which  she  has  not  made  her 
own.  But  Japanese  educators  have  accomplished 
what  experts  at  the  outset  thought  impossible, 
despite  the  poverty,  ignorance  and  the  low  ideals 
of  the  people  who  fail  to  grasp  the  significance 
of  knowledge,  the  annual  shortage  of  thousands 
in  the  teaching  force,  the  proud  effort  to  provide 
an  agnostic  or  at  least  an  entirely  non-religious 
moral  philosophy,  and  the  ambition  to  cover  the 
whole  realm  of  human  investigation  and  book- 
learning. That  Japan  has  not  miserably  failed, 
but  has  succeeded  in  producing  in  thirty  years,  a 
result  which  Russia,  for  example,  still  waits  to 
attempt,  marks  her  as  worthy  of  a great  future. 
She  has  more  than  developed  the  form  and  the 
spirit  of  liberal  education,  she  has  gone  far  to 
realize  its  substance.  The  Chinese  and  Hindoo, 
intellectually  equal,  are  not  as  yet  to  be  com- 


Summation 


91 


pared  to  the  Japanese  in  general  educational 
progress.  In  capacity  for  elaborate  organization 
China  is  the  equal  of  Japan,  and  considering  her 
tenacity,  the  superior.  But  thus  far  she  has  ex- 
pended this  organizing  gift  on  the  dry  bones  of 
an  archaic  learning.  The  subtle  Hindoo  mysti- 
cism has  been  gripped  by  the  strong,  practical 
hand  of  Britain;  universities  have  resulted,  but 
they  are  exotic  in  ideas  and  in  control;  they  are 
not  Hindoo.  The  young  Japanese  people,  an- 
hungered of  learning,  have  literally  fed  upon  the 
erudition  of  the  West  until  it  has  begun  to  grow 
into  their  bone  and  sinew. 


GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA 


“What  Confucius  teaches  is  true;  what  is 
contrary  to  his  teaching  is  false  ; what  he  does 
not  teach  is  unnecessary.” — Axiom. 

“ We  do  not  lack  either  men  of  intellect  or 
brilliant  talents,  capable  of  learning  and  doing 
anything  they  please,  but  their  movements  have 
hitherto  been  hampered  by  old  prejudices.” — 
Emperor  Kuang  HsD. 


THE  NANKING  EXAMINATION  HALL. 

THIRTY  THOUSAND  STUDENTS  ARE  EXAMINED  AT  ONE  TIME  IN  THE 
STALLS  OF  THIS  GREAT  HALL. 


XI 


OUTLINES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  SYSTEM 

BEFORE  Abraham  left  Ur  of  the  Chaldees 
in  the  West  of  Asia,  an  Emperor  of  China 
had  established  a system  of  education  in  the 
East  of  Asia  which  is  still  in  existence,  and  which 
has  produced  a race  whose  constant  worship  is 
bestowed  upon  those  men,  now  deified,  who 
taught  them  the  beauty  and  power  of  the  Chinese 
language.  Study  in  China  is  considered  a voca- 
tion, the  maxim  being  common  among  the  peo- 
ple that  “ Study  is  the  highest  pursuit  a man  can 
follow.”  Once  a scholar  always  a scholar;  to 
engage  in  trade,  to  put  his  hand  to  manual  labor 
or  even  to  be  “ handy  about  the  house  ’’  is  not  to 
be  tolerated  in  a son  of  literature.  The  goal  for 
every  student  is  government  office.  The  Gov- 
ernment offers  no  employment  to  women,  who 
cannot  be  office-holders,  and  therefore  it  is  use- 
less, if  not  harmful,  to  provide  them  with  an 
education. 

M.  E.  C.  Biot  published  in  Paris,  in  1847,  a 
brochure  entitled,  “ Essai  sur  l’Histoire  de  In- 
struction Publique  en  Chine  et  de  la  corporation 
des  lettres  de  puis  les  anciens  temps  jusqua  nos 
jours;  un  ouvrage  redige  d’apres  les  documents 
Chinois,” 1 based  upon  Chinese  encyclopaedic 

1The  Chinese  Repository,  vol.  18:  No.  2,  pp.  57-86. 

95 


96  Confucian  Books  Burned 

works.  From  M.  Biot’s  researches  it  appears 
that  as  early  as  the  twenty-fourth  century,  b.  c., 
each  family  had  a schoolroom,  each  township  a 
high  school  and  each  county  a college,  while  the 
Emperor  was  the  patron  of  letters  and  of  music. 
The  Shu  Ching  states  that  civil  service  examina- 
tions were  instituted  in  the  twenty-third  century, 
but  their  authentic  history  is  wanting  until  the 
seventh  century,  b.  c.  There  then  followed 
years  of  war,  prince  against  prince,  amidst 
which  scenes  of  disorder  and  conflict  Confucius 
appeared,  and  summoned  his  contemporaries 
back  to  the  pursuits  of  peace  and  the  study  of 
the  ancient  books.  Mencius,  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, became  the  leader  of  the  literati,  and  the 
defender  of  the  Confucian  school.  In  213  B.  c., 
the  Emperor  commanded  that  the  Confucian 
books  wherever  found  in  the  Empire  should  be 
burned,  and  “four  hundred  and  sixty  literati, 
convicted  of  having  preserved  the  works  of  their 
master,  were  put  to  death.”  With  the  rise  of 
the  Han  dynasty  the  devotees  of  literature  were 
treated  with  more  consideration,  and  in  124  b.  c., 
were  completely  rehabilitated  in  Imperial  favor. 
But  it  is  due  to  Wen  Wang,  a governor  of  what 
is  now  part  of  the  province  of  Szechuan,  that  the 
“examination  system”  much  as  it  is  now,  was 
instituted,  the  examinations  being  largely  fed  by 
the  existing  perfectural  colleges.  The  Han  Em- 
perors endorsed  the  plan,  prescribed  the  Con- 
fucian books  as  the  basis  of  study,  and  used  the 
literati  in  opposition  to  the  demands  of  the  feudal 


Executions  of  Literati  97 

lords  and  princes  who  claimed  the  offices  as 
hereditary  rights. 

In  the  second  century  before  our  era  the 
eunuch  party  overpowered  the  scholastic  at 
court,  and  admitted  the  teachers  of  Taoism  to 
court  favor,  while  a thousand  literati  were  exe- 
cuted. Three  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  inter- 
necine strife  followed,  in  which  the  Taoists  and 
Buddhists  disputed  with  the  disciples  of  Confu- 
cius for  the  chief  place,  and  in  which  the  heredi- 
tary system  of  office  holding  came  near  driving 
the  examination  system  to  the  wall.  But  in  a. 
d.  617  the  great  T'ang  dynasty  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  the  colleges  from  Peking  throughout  all 
the  leading  cities  of  the  country  were  graded  and 
systematized,  and  the  officers  of  the  Empire  were 
recruited  from  the  examination  halls.  The  pres- 
ent Hsiu  Tsai,  B.  A.,  and  Chin  Shih,  M.  A.,  degrees 
dating  from  the  seventh  century  are  the  most  an- 
cient literary  rewards  still  in  use  in  any  country. 
About  the  time  of  the  founding  of  the  Han  Lin 
Academy,  in  740,  the  Taoist  and  Buddhist  teach- 
ers again  disputed  the  sway  of  the  Confucian 
school,  being  aided  and  abetted  by  the  eunuch 
party  who  were  bent  on  corrupting  the  civil 
service.  It  was  in  the  days  of  the  T'angs  that 
the  examinations  were  placed  under  the  Board  of 
Rites,  and  that  military  examinations  and  med- 
ical colleges  of  a primitive  character  were  estab- 
lished. 

M.  Biot,  who  is  an  authority  on  the  subject, 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  960  the  Imperial 


98  Confucianism  Established 

favor  was  completely  with  Confucius,  who  was 
given  the  title  of  Royal  Sovereign  of  the  Diffu- 
sion of  Right  Principles.  When  the  Mongols 
overran  Heaven’s  country  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury they  adopted  the  examination  and  college 
system  which  they  found  in  the  land  having 
nothing  whatever  of  their  own  to  offer  in  its 
place.  The  Ming  Emperors  from  1368,  strove  to 
build  up  the  system  of  literary,  medical,  legal 
and  astrological  colleges,  establishing  ten  year 
courses  for  the  Imperial  University,  authorizing 
public  libraries,  fixing  the  scale  of  punishments 
for  recalcitrant  students,  and  appointing  regular 
literary  examiners.  About  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  Manchus  succeeded  the 
Mings,  and  laid  special  emphasis  on  the  examina- 
tions and  less  and  less  upon  the  colleges,  the 
College  of  Law  being  entirely  neglected.  The 
Manchus  followed  the  example  of  the  Mings, 
and  have  allowed  or  even  encouraged,  at  times 
of  financial  distress,  the  sale  of  degrees  which 
permitted  the  possessor  to  go  direct  into  the 
higher  examinations  or  into  official  life.  But  this 
venal  practice  has  not  deterred  honest  competitors 
who  in  even  greater  numbers,  and  with  renewed 
courage,  still  present  themselves  for  examination. 

Peking  is  the  educational  centre  of  China. 
Here  is  located  the  Examination  Hall  where  men 
strive  for  the  Doctorate  of  Letteis.  Here  is  situ- 
ated the  Han  Lin  Yuan  or  Laureates’  Academy, 
which,  though  destroyed  by  the  Boxers  in  the 
course  of  their  attack  on  the  legations  in  1900,  and 


Student  Centres 


99 


now  bereft  of  its  buildings  and  library,  is  still  the 
most  famous  society  of  scholars  in  Eastern  Asia. 
Here  is  the  Hall  of  Fame  containing  stone  mono- 
liths bearing  in  deep  carved  idiographs  the  names 
of  the  greatest  scholars  of  the  realm.  Here  also 
is  the  Board  of  Rites,  that  great  department  of 
government,  which  among  its  other  duties  ad- 
ministers the  closely  organized  educational  system 
of  the  Empire. 

It  is  only  recognized  talent  that  dares  look 
towards  Peking;  the  goal  for  each  man  who  has 
not  secured  his  Chu  Jen  or  Master’s  degree  is  the 
capital  city  of  the  province  where  his  grandfather 
was  born.  The  nativity  of  each  Chinese  does 
not  depend  on  his  own  birthplace  but  upon  that 
of  his  grandfather,  and  the  law  does  not  permit 
him  to  come  up  for  examination  except  in  his 
“native”  province.  In  the  case  of  Kiangsu, 
Anhui,  and  Kiangsi  provinces  the  highest  pro- 
vincial honors  for  the  two  former  are  awarded  at 
the  vice-regal  capital  of  Nanking. 

The  Master’s  Degree  may  be  competed  for  only 
by  students  who  have  received  the  Hsiu  Tsai  or 
Bachelor’s  Degree  at  the  prefectural  cities.  Each 
province  is  subdivided  for  purposes  of  govern- 
ment into  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  prefectures,  and 
the  Fu  city  which  dominates  each  prefecture  is  a 
Bachelor  of  Arts  headquarters.  The  bachelors’ 
examination  hall  is  an  elaborate  set  of  buildings 
where  the  students  sit  in  long  rows  and  write 
their  theses.  Only  2,000  men  must  be  provided 
for  at  once  in  an  average  Hsiu  Tsai  test.  But  the 


loo  The  Granting  of  Degrees 

vast  Master’s  Degree  Hall  at  Nanking  is  arranged 
to  receive  30,000  men  for  examination  at  the  same 
time,  and  provides  for  each  a small  separated 
booth  or  stall. 

The  selection  of  those  who  may  compete  at 
the  prefectural  examinations  for  the  bachelor’s  de- 
gree is  made  in  the  Hsiens,  which  are  usually  said 
to  correspond  to  our  counties.1  At  these  Hsien 
examinations  the  successful  students  may  be  said 
to  matriculate  for  the  Bachelor's  tests  to  be  held 
at  the  Fu  cities.  This  then  is  the  government 
process  of  testing  and  developing  men  for  official 
posts.  In  every  province  the  youths  take  their 
matriculation  examinations  in  the  Hsien  cities,  or 
county  seats,  pass  up  into  the  prefectural  or  Fu 
cities  for  their  first  degree,  and  if  successful,  go  on 
at  the  appointed  time  to  the  capitals  of  the  prov- 
inces for  the  second  degree.  This  fiery  trial  passed, 
they  may  report  themselves  at  Peking  for  the  third 
degree  competition.  From  the  resulting  batch  of 
degree  men  the  laureates  are  chosen,  and  the 
“ expectant”  officials. 

1 have  compiled  from  the  official  records  pub- 
lished by  the  Imperial  Government  the  statistics 


1 As  the  lowest  self-governing  unit  the  Hsien  seems  to  the 
writer  to  correspond  more  nearly  to  the  American  town,  and 
the  Fu  or  group  of  Hsiens  to  the  American  county  or  group  of 
towns,  and  the  province  or  group  of  Fus  to  the  state  or  group  of 
counties.  The  English  use  of  the  word  town  is  quite  different 
from  the  American,  which  would  make  this  analogy  seem  to 
them  unfortunate.  No  analogy  of  this  kind  however  is  more 
than  a half  truth. 


Extent  of  Student  Field 


101 


which  give  a fairly  reliable  statement  of  the  ex- 
amination system  for  the  Empire.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  really  accu- 
rate Chinese  statistics  could  only  be  accounted 
for  by  a miracle.  There  are  about  1,705  matricu- 
lation centres  where  the  preliminary  tests  are 
passed  before  the  students  are  allowed  to  report 
themselves  at  the  First  Degree  Halls.  There  are 
252  first  degree  halls  in  China  mostly  located  in 
the  Fu  cities,  but  not  invariably,  for  a number  of 
Chou  cities  rank  as  literary  centres;  in  Hunan, 
for  example,  four  Chous  have  Examination  Halls. 
There  are  eighteen  second  degree  Halls  in  the 
Empire,  and  one  for  the  third  degree. 

The  law  has  fixed  for  every  Fu  and  Prov- 
ince the  total  number  of  first  and  second  de- 
grees which  the  Chancellors  are  allowed  to 
grant.  Biennially  28,923  bachelors’  degrees,  at 
the  most,  may  be  conferred  upon  the  successful 
among  the  760,000  competitors.  At  the  triennial 
examinations  in  the  provincial  capitals  1,586  men 
are  given  the  second  degree  out  of  about  190,300 
who  compete. 

If  the  whole  country  be  taken  into  account  it 
may  be  said  that  each  Hsien  is  represented  by 
about  450  aspirants  at  the  Fu  examinations,  and 
the  average  number  of  competitors  for  the  first 
degree  in  each  province,  during  one  round  by  the 
Chancellor  is  38,000.  This  number  varies  of 
course  according  to  the  size  of  the  province;  in 
Kuantung,  for  example,  in  a given  year  there 
were  70,000  candidates,  and  in  Hunan  45,000, 


102  Rungs  in  the  Ladder 

and  “grace  examinations”  in  Hupei  have  brought 
out  130,000. 

There  is  a total  of  1,839  degree  giving  Halls  in 
the  Empire,  at  which  approximately  960,000  men 
are  at  present  competing,  and  of  whom  all  but 
1,839  are  doomed,  at  present,  to  failure. 

We  have  not  taken  into  consideration  the 
second  million  of  men  who  are  preparing  in  the 
counties  for  matriculation,  but  only  the  960,000 
who  are  actually  entered  in  the  lists,  who  have 
thrown  down  the  gauntlet  to  fame. 

The  rungs  in  the  ladder  are  as  follows: 

1.  Preliminary  studies  in  village  or  clan 
schools,  and  with  tutors. 

2.  Hsien  Shih  or  matriculation  tests  at  county 
seats  under  the  eye  of  the  district  magistrate. 
Those  who  pass  the  examination  are  called  T‘ung 
Sheng  or  students.  The  Fu  Shih,  or  matriculations 
at  the  Fu  cities,  are  conducted  by  the  prefect,  and 
the  successful  competitors  are  also  entitled  stu- 
dents. The  matriculant  who  stands  the  highest 
is  called  the  Head  of  the  Desks. 

3.  The  Yuan  Shih,  for  matriculants,  is  con- 
ducted by  the  Literary  Chancellor,  principally  at 
the  Fu  cities,  for  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree. 
The  competitor  who  ranks  the  highest  is  called 
the  Desk  Swan. 

4.  The  Hsiang  Shih,  or  Provincial  Examina- 
tion, at  provincial  capitals,  open  to  B.  A.’s,  at 
which  the  Chu  Jen  (M.  A.)  degree  is  conferred. 
The  best  scholar  is  styled  Chief  of  the  Expectants. 
Chief  Chancellors  preside. 


Hungs  in  the  Ladder  103 

5.  The  Hui  Shih,  or  National  Examination, 
is  held  every  three  years  in  Peking.  Only  Mas- 
ters are  admitted.  The  degree  of  Chin  Shih  is 
awarded  (D.  Litt.).  The  first  man  in  the  finals 
is  called  Chief  of  the  Assembled.  Cabinet  Min- 
isters preside. 

6.  The  Tien  Shih,  or  Palace  Examination,  held 
once  in  three  years  in  Peking.  Only  Doctors 
are  admitted.  All  successful  candidates  are  called 
Han  Lin;  the  first  on  the  list  is  known  as  the 
Evident  Chief. 

7.  The  Ch'ao  K‘ao,  or  Imperial  Examination, 
in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,  is  open  to  those 
who  have  at  least  the  Second  Degree.  Those 
who  have  the  highest  rank  are  made  District 
Magistrates.  The  men  in  the  second  grade  are 
called  Chiao  Lun,  or  Professors. 

The  Government  leaves  the  student  to  prepare 
himself  with  a private  tutor  as  best  he  can. 
From  the  first  step  to  the  last  the  recitation 
system  is  unknown.  The  State  does  not  teach 
men,  it  examines  them,  and  rank  and  rewards 
are  entirely  determined  by  the  periodical  tests. 

The  Government  concerns  itself  only  with  ad- 
vanced students.  While  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
people  in  “Heaven’s  Empire”  have  been  con- 
demned by  some  writers  as  unusually  ignorant, 
they  have  been  praised  as  unusually  intelligent 
by  such  brilliant  chroniclers  as  Abbe  Hue. 

“Of  all  countries  in  the  world  China  is 
assuredly  the  one  in  which  primary  instruction 
is  most  widely  diffused.  . . . With  some 


104  Primary  Education 

few  exceptions,  every  Chinese  knows  how  to 
read  and  write,  at  least  sufficiently  for  the 
ordinary  occasions  of  life.  Thus  the  working- 
men, the  peasants  even,  are  capable  of  taking 
notes  concerning  their  daily  affairs,  of  carrying 
on  their  own  correspondence,  of  reading  the 
proclamations  of  the  Mandarins,  and  often  also 
the  productions  of  current  literature.”  1 * This  was 
written  in  1854,  since  when  more  careful  investi- 
gations have  shown  that  China  is  not  an  edu- 
cational Utopia. 

Primary  education,  although  ideally  recom- 
mended for  all  Chinese,  reaches  in  practice  only 
a fraction  of  the  boys.  In  theory,  “ schools  are 
found  in  every  city,  village,  and  hamlet  in  the 
Empire,  and  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  educa- 
tion is  universal,  and  it  is  a reproach  to  any 
parents,  however  poor,  if  they  neglect  to  send 
their  sons  to  school.”  5 There  is,  however,  no 
system  of  elementary  schools.  “ Custom  ” im- 
pels the  village,  or  patriarchal  family  to  employ  a 
teacher,  and  often  the  chief  practical  use  of  the 
Ancestral  Hall  is  to  serve  as  a schoolhouse. 
This  schooling  is  not  obligatory,  but  is  for  those 
who  can  afford  it.  Even  in  the  elementary 
branches  there  are  no  classes  for  girls,  though 
the  wealthier  families  sometimes  have  their 
daughters  taught  privately.  The  general  senti- 
ment in  favor  of,  and  more  or  less  participation 


1 The  Chinese  Empire,  pp.  71,  72. 

* The  Real  Chinaman,  p.  246. 


The  Board  of  Rites  105 

in,  the  primary  education  of  boys,  prepares  the 
way  for  the  great  competitive  examinations. 

The  Imperial  Ministry  is  divided  into  six  great 
departments  or  boards,  of  which  the  Board  of 
Rites,  or  Li  Pu,  is  charged  with  the  responsibil- 
ity of  conducting  the  tests  in  the  271  Halls  of 
the  country.  This  Board  is  designated  by  the 
Imperial  will,  and  consists  of  two  Presidents  (a 
Manchu  and  a Chinese),  four  Vice-Presidents 
(two  Manchus  and  two  Chinese),  four  Secretaries 
and  Assistant  Secretaries,  together  with  a host  of 
scribes.  The  Board  is  subdivided  into  several 
bureaus,  one  of  which  controls  the  examinations. 
The  Chinese  are  careful  archivists,  and  the  scho- 
lastic records  preserved  for  the  centuries  past,  but 
largely  destroyed  in  1900,  were  quite  without 
precedent. 

The  power  of  organization  of  this  remarkable 
people  is  nowhere  better  shown  than  in  their 
educational  system,  perfect  in  mechanism,  at 
once  democratic  and  monarchical. 

The  Board  of  Rites  comes  into  contact  with 
the  provinces  through  the  Literary  Chancellors, 
or  T‘i  Tu  Hsiieh  Yuan,  whose  terms  of  office  are 
in  each  case  for  three  years,  and  who  are  debarred 
from  serving  their  native  provinces  where  they 
might  be  led  into  partiality. 

The  Chancellor  must  speak  the  official  Kuan 
Hua  or  Mandarin  language,  and  the  law  presumes 
that  he  will  have  honestly  won  at  least  his  Doc- 
torate of  Letters.  It  is  presupposed  that  his  style 
of  composition  in  prose  and  poetry  is  worthy  of 


106  The  Literary  Chancellor 

emulation.  But  acceptable  qualifications  alone 
will  not  secure  a Chancellorship;  influence  must 
be  used,  and  in  China  as  elsewhere  there  is  no 
influence  so  effective  as  that  of  money.  During 
his  tenure  of  office,  the  Chancellor  is  a sort  of 
literary  monarch  over  the  would-be  “promoted 
men”  in  the  province  to  which  he  is  designated. 
Thousands  of  aspiring  students  dream  of  his 
favor  by  night,  and  work  for  it  by  day.  He  goes 
from  Fu  to  Fu  (the  An  Lin  or  “Serial  Arrival  ” is  a 
great  event),  confronting  the  assembled  students, 
and,  with  the  help  of  his  many  secretaries  and 
writers,  selects  the  most  creditable  essays  from 
amongst  the  thousands  handed  in  to  him.  He 
is  received  with  fawning  attention,  especially  by 
those  mandarins  who  hope  to  secure  from  him  a 
favorable  word  at  headquarters.  In  strange  con- 
trast to  the  position  of  a Chancellor,  is  the  small- 
ness of  his  official  salary.  His  retinue  and  many 
of  his  own  personal  expenses  are  provided  for 
by  the  province  in  which  he  labors,  and  there  are 
large  perquisites  at  each  Fu. 

The  Chancellor  is  assisted  by  a Director  of 
Studies  located  in  each  Fu,  and  each  Hsien  has 
its  supervisor  who  keeps  a register  of  the  stu- 
dents preparing  for  the  competitions,  and  who 
serves  as  superintendent  of  the  Confucian  Temple. 

The  Literary  Chancellor  has  charge  of  the  first 
degree  examinations  of  his  province.  Those 
who  have  already  received  this  degree  report 
themselves  for  the  Second  Degree  in  the  presence 
of  a Chief  Chancellor  sent  down  from  Peking. 


Examination  Presidents  107 

Cabinet  Ministers  are  designated  to  preside 
over  the  Doctors’  National  Examination  in  Pe- 
king, and  when  some  of  the  Doctors  have  be- 
come Han  Lins,  and  present  themselves  at  the 
Court  Test  for  promotion  in  the  great  Pencil 
Forest,  or  Han  Lin  Yuan,  the  Emperor  himself 
proposes  the  text  for  their  theses  and  receives 
those  who  are  to  be  crowned  with  this  lasting 
honor. 


XII 


A TYPICAL  LITERARY  CENTRE 
EARNING  in  the  East  is  followed  by  an 


indescribable  eclat,  and  its  devotee  is  a 


marked,  a privileged  man.  Its  halls  are 
gilded  with  the  romance  of  sadden  fame,  as  well 
as  darkened  by  terrible  and  repeated  failure. 
The  pride  of  Dartmouth  in  Webster,  the  orator- 
statesman,  or  of  Harvard  in  Lowell,  the  literateur- 
minister  plenopotentiary  is  not  comparable  to  the 
worship  bestowed  in  Kiangsi  upon  such  scholar- 
mandarins  as  Chu  Hsi  and  Yang  Ming. 

The  literary  city  of  Kan  Chou  Fu  is  situated 
three  weeks’  journey  south  from  the  Poyang 
Lake,  and  about  900  miles  from  Shanghai, — far 
away  from  the  tread  of  the  heavy  feet  of  the 
foreign  innovator. 

One  of  our  party  who  passed  under  the  great 
east  gate  into  Kan  Chou  Fu,  was  the  fourth 
foreign  lady  ever  to  enter  the  southern  capital  of 
Kiangsi,  and,  with  one  exception,  there  was  no 
other  within  two  hundred  miles  in  any  direction. 
Here  the  Confucian  system  is  in  its  primal  con- 
dition, Kan  Chou  even  having  diverted  the  Tai- 
ping  hordes,  and  preserved  its  public  buildings 
from  the  calamities  which  visited  neighboring 
cities.  Near  the  south  gate,  beside  the  China  In- 


108 


Yang  Ming’s  Book-Garden  109 

land  Mission,  is  a large  elegant  house  with  the 
particular  distinction  of  a royal  yellow  roof,  only 
permitted  to  the  favored  few.  This  is  the  B.  A. 
club-house  for  the  prefecture,  and  only  students 
who  have  won  the  first  degree  may  resort 
thither. 

Straight  across  the  city,  near  the  north  gate,  is 
the  “Yang  Ming  Shu  Yuan,”  or  “Yang  Ming’s 
Book-garden,”  as  it  is  beautifully  called.  It  is 
approached  under  lofty  gateways  and  up  flights 
of  stone  steps,  and  consists  of  a group  of  well 
arranged  one-story  buildings,  with  a tower  fac- 
ing out  on  the  city.  In  the  lookout  in  the 
tower  stands  a “students’  god,”  in  the  attitude  of 
bringing  down  his  pen  to  indicate  the  successful 
competitor  in  the  examinations.  This  Book- 
garden,  named  after  the  scholar  Yang  Ming,  is  the 
college  dormitory  of  the  prefecture.  His  influ- 
ence still  pervades  this  his  native  province  where 
he  was  reared  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  out 
from  which  he  went  to  vice-regal  honors,  to  im- 
peachment, to  forgiveness  because  so  many 
loved  him,  to  be  canonized  and  now  to  be  wor- 
shipped in  the  Metropolitan  Temple  of  Worthies. 
Those  who  are  able  to  compete  for  the  first  de- 
gree, or  are  preparing  for  the  second  degree  ex- 
aminations, may  go  there  and  hide  away  for 
study.  There  are  rooms  for  two  hundred  men. 
The  students  come  and  go  according  to  their 
zeal,  and  many  during  the  year  use  the  col- 
lege grounds.  A group  of  well  dressed  students 
were  met  in  the  Book-garden  one  summer’s  day 


1 lO 


Inland  Students 


by  two  inquiring  foreigners.  Their  spokesman 
proved  to  be  Mr.  Huang,  nephew  of  the  greatest 
literary  man  of  the  city,  a member  of  the  Pencil 
Forest,  or  Han  Lin  Academy,  at  Peking.  He  was 
not  over-courteous,  and  inquired  rather  loftily 
whether  there  were  colleges  in  America.  At  his 
request  the  general  outline  of  a college  course 
was  given,  and  an  expression  of  mingled  sur- 
prise, doubt,  and  belief  stole  over  the  faces  of 
the  listening  Chinese;  pipes  were  offered  but  de- 
clined, and  with  salaams  the  Americans  took  their 
departure. 

Just  above  the  Shu  Yuan  stands  the  Heavenly 
Tower,  containing  a sort  of  banquet  hall  where 
mandarins  often  congregate  to  drink  tea  and  in- 
dulge in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  views  of  city, 
stream,  hills  and  mountains  to  be  found  in  China. 
The  city  is  surrounded  by  four  rivers,  the  Kan 
being  on  the  east.  At  the  south  are  high  moun- 
tains dividing  off  Kuantung  province  of  which 
Canton  is  the  capital. 

Up  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  city  near  the 
great  wall,  lies  the  Bachelor’s  Examination  Hall. 
Here  twice  in  three  years  10,000  literary,  and  10,- 
000  military  candidates  present  themselves,  with 
eager  anticipations.  In  visiting  the  hall  you  pass 
under  a number  of  arches  with  honorific  char- 
acters, and  then  reach  the  main  building  beyond 
which  are  the  Literary  Chancellor’s  quarters. 

In  the  Kan  Chou  prefecture  there  are  eight 
Hsiens,  and  one  T'ing  or  independent  county. 
Literary  ambition  in  that  part  of  China  draws, 


An  Examination 


11  l 


on  an  average,  from  each  county  1,000  men  to 
prepare  for  and  compete  at  the  first  degree  ex- 
aminations, in  the  face  of  the  established  fact 
that  only  two  men  in  a hundred  are  allowed  to 
pass.  Of  10,000  literary  candidates  at  a given 
examination  all  but  200  are  plucked.  But  the 
severity  of  the  test  is  one  of  its  chief  attractions. 
The  students  remain  in  Kan  Chou  not  longer 
than  forty  days  for  any  given  examination. 
Little  time  is  spent  in  the  presence  of  the  Chan- 
cellor, but  much  in  study,  in  feasts,  in  rejoicing 
over  honor  or  bemoaning  failure. 

The  opening  of  an  examination  presents  a bril- 
liant scene.  The  approaches  to  the  great  en- 
closure, the  main  red  hall,  and  the  decorated 
platform,  are  lighted  with  red  and  yellow  lanterns 
luring  from  post  to  post.  The  doors  are  swung 
open  at  midnight,  and  2,000  candidates  from  two 
Hsiens  march  in,  dressed  in  the  long  blue  robes 
of  the  scholar,  and  take  seats  at  the  benches. 
The  Literary  Chancellor  of  the  province  in  silken 
magnificence,  attended  by  secretaries,  takes  his 
seat  on  the  platform  under  the  canopy.  The 
policemen  take  their  posts,  the  doors  are  closed, 
and  the  “text”  from  the  classics  is  announced. 
The  students  sit  on  long  narrow  settees,  and 
must  keep  their  hands  on  the  writing  boards,  for 
a man  may  be  expelled  from  the  examination 
hall  if  he  is  caught  fingering  his  clothing.  The 
dullard  and  the  cheap  youth  are  not  wanting. 
They  often  try  to  conceal  “cribs”  in  the  braid  of 
their  queues,  in  the  seams  of  their  garments,  and 


112 


An  Examination 


in  their  shoes.  As  the  “text”  selected  by  the 
Chancellor  is  not  known  until  it  is  announced, 
and  as  the  student  must  forthwith  begin  to  write 
his  essay  under  the  eye  of  the  Examiner  and  his 
lieutenants,  cheating  is  somewhat  difficult.  The 
rules  require  the  clothes  of  the  students  to  be 
examined  before  they  enter  the  hall,  that  con- 
cealed manuscripts  may  be  detected.  There  is 
however  a large  amount  of  cheating  practiced 
through  the  connivance  of  assistants,  and  bribery 
of  the  Chancellor  is  not  infrequent. 

The  2,000  men  who  took  their  seats  on  this 
first  midnight  are  sounded  out  by  the  big  drum 
at  six  in  the  afternoon.  Thus  they  are  given 
eighteen  hours  to  complete  their  essays.  They 
are  allowed  to  bring  into  the  hall  only  light  con- 
fectionery, though  tea  is  passed  often,  but  they 
are  expected  to  work  and  not  to  eat.  They  are 
allowed  the  following  six  hours  from  sunset  till 
midnight  for  rest,  and  then  the  same  men  assem- 
ble for  the  second  trial.  On  the  third  night,  the 
2,000,  or  those  who  are  thought  fit,  make  their 
third  effort.  With  the  third  period  his  examina- 
tion is  ended,  and  the  student  does  as  he  chooses, 
while  a second  set  of  2,000  men  enters,  on  the 
three  days’  ordeal.  This  process  goes  on  until 
all  the  men  have  shown  their  literary  capacity. 
There  is  much  anxiety,  and  every  one  is  on  the 
qui  vive  until  the  fateful  list  of  200  is  posted  on 
the  great  “spirit-resisting  barrier”  at  the  en- 
trance. There  is  grief  in  9,800  homes,  but  in  the 
towns  where  the  successful  200  live  there  is 


The  Literary  Chancellor  1 13 

feasting  and  much  family  pride;  the  B.  A.  at 
home  is  a hero.1 

The  Literary  Chancellor  goes  up  the  Kan  River 
to  begin  his  round  of  the  examination  centres  in 
Kiangsi,  with  a flotilla  of  eighteen  great  house- 
boats, guarded  by  gunboats.  The  Chancellor  is 
appointed  by  the  Throne,  and  during  his  stay  of 
three  years  in  the  province,  ranks  as  a special 
Imperial  Ambassador.  On  the  largest  house-boat 
of  his  fleet,  high  up  on  the  main  sail,  the  passing 
traveller  reads  this  inscription,  “ By  Imperial 
Command,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation in  Kiangsi  province.”  And  on  the  side  of 
the  boat  this  command,  “ Be  respectfully  quiet.” 
The  great  literary  man  rides  from  point  to  point 
behind  the  lattice  windows  of  his  stately  craft. 

The  Chinese  have  a proverb  to  the  effect  that 
if  one  is  a Literary  Examiner  for  three  years,  his 
sons  and  grandsons  cannot  possibly  come  to 
want.  The  average  amount  which  the  Chancellor 
is  said  to  make  at  Kan  Chou  at  each  visit,  above 
his  expenses,  is  $50,000.  The  letter  of  the  Con- 
fucian  standard  requires  the  literary  man  to  be 
simple  and  modest  in  his  tastes.  The  letter  of 
the  law  is  therefore  complied  with.  At  the  close 
of  the  examination,  and  before  the  Chancellor 
will  leave  the  city,  the  Chih  Hsien  gives  him  a 
certificate  which  enumerates  the  small  amount  of 
vegetables,  bean-curd  and  pork  which  the  Chan- 

1 This  description  was  given  with  enthusiasm  and  detail  by  a 
student  in  the  Examination  Hall  at  Kan  Chou.  Some  of  the 
particulars,  however,  are  not  applicable  to  other  centres. 


n4 


Profits  in  Office 


cellor  and  his  attendants  have  eaten  each  day, 
commends  his  frugal  taste,  and  says,  in  closing, 
that  he  has  not  extorted  a cash,  and  has  paid  his 
bills.  This  certificate  with  others  is  handed  in 
when  he  reports  at  Peking  at  the  close  of  his 
three  years’  labors.  It  is  absolutely  and  entirely 
false,  as  every  one  knows.  The  Chancellor  lives 
in  the  greatest  luxury,  sleeps  and  walks  in  noth- 
ing but  silk,  eats  the  best  the  country  can  produce, 
pays  for  absolutely  nothing  he  receives,  is  loaded 
with  “booth  money,”  bribes  and  presents;  and 
the  ridiculous  thing  about  it  is  that  no  conceal- 
ment is  made,  except  in  the  official  papers. 
Exactions  are  expected  and  permitted,  but  they 
must  be  within  well  understood  limits.  If  these 
limits  are  exceeded,  the  Chancellor  is  likely  to  be 
exposed  through  the  detective  work  of  the  Cen- 
sors, who  are  located  in  regular  circuits  through- 
out the  provinces.  During  the  early  days  of  1902 
the  Literary  Chancellors  of  Kuangsi  and  Fukien 
provinces,  who  had  been  denounced  to  the 
Throne  by  Censors,  for  malfeasance  in  office, 
were  severely  punished  and  made  the  laughing 
stock  of  the  nation.  The  one  was  cashiered, 
and  the  other  was  deprived  of  his  rank,  and  both 
by  public  proclamations.  A Chinese  proverb 
says:  “Gold  is  tested  by  fire,  man  by  gold”; 
and  another  is  to  the  effect  that,  “With  money 
you  can  move  the  gods,  without  it  you  cannot 
move  a man.” 


XIII 


CONFUCIAN  EDUCATION  AS  A POLITICAL  FORCE 

IT  is  a common  saying  among  soi-disant  au- 
thorities that  the  Chinese  have  no  political 
unity  or  patriotic  impulse,  but  the  student  of 
their  civil  service  examinations  is  drawn  to  the 
opposite  conclusion.  Education  in  the  West  is 
scientific,  literary,  philosophic,  and  makes  little  of 
politics  and  of  statecraft.  But  with  the  Chinese 
“the  art  of  government  is  the  great  study,  and 
all  else,  science,  literature,  religion,  is  merely 
subsidiary.”  1 

It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  China,  as  a country, 
has  remained  intact  for  so  many  centuries.  It 
may  set  it  clearly  before  the  mind  to  note  that 
this  people  has  preserved  its  solidarity  from  “the 
seventh  century  before  the  Exodus,  the  fifteenth 
century  before  Rome  was  founded,  and  the 
twenty-second  century  before  Christ.”2  The 
United  States  contains  about  3,600,000  square 
miles,  while  the  Empire  of  China  has  5,000,000 
square  miles.  This  Empire  includes  one-fifth  of 
the  population  of  the  world,  and  covers  one- 
tenth  of  the  habitable  globe.  Immense  and  aged, 

1 Han  Lin  Papers,  p.  9. 

3 Hundred  Years  of  Missions,  p.  307. 

XI5 


n6  Educational  Conquests 

this  country  owes  its  longevity,  if  not  its  extent, 
to  the  conserving  power  of  the  student  body.1 
Although  the  Chinese  has  none  of  the  martial 
spirit  of  the  Roman,  yet  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  has 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  “ He  has  equalled 
the  Roman  in  his  conquests,  and  surpassed  him 
in  the  permanence  of  his  possessions.” 

The  mind  of  the  nation  has  been  bent  for  long 
cycles  to  the  study  of  high  politics,  and  surround- 
ing nations  and  tribes  have  been  readily  absorbed. 
The  Manchus,  although  foreigners,  and  still 
ruling  in  China,  have  not  subjugated  the  cus- 
toms, letters,  or  religion  of  the  Empire.  Even 
the  title  of  the  conquered  state  remains  as  before, 
Chung  Kuo,  the  provincial  home  of  the  conquer- 
ors only  bearing  their  name.  Somewhat  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  descendants  of  Genghis 
Khan.  For  a time  the  Mongols  ruled  in  China, 
imitating  the  civilization  of  the  conquered,  as 
the  northern  barbarians  conquered  and  imitated 
Rome.  Their  home  prairies  were  ultimately  in- 
corporated into  the  Empire,  while  their  sons 
reverence  the  arts  and  letters  of  the  Middle  King- 
dom. The  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm  was  glad 
to  pay  tribute  to  China,  and  for  centuries  puzzled 
its  Korean  head  over  the  Chinese  classics.  Con- 
fucian  learning  was  for  many  cycles  the  touch- 
stone of  scholarship  in  Japan,  Annam,  and  among 
those  mountain  peoples  who  flank  the  Persian 
and  the  Afghan  domains. 


Cycle  of  Cathay,  p.  43. 


Democracy  of  Learning  117 

Although  many  dialects  are  doing  service  in 
the  Middle  Kingdom,  yet  in  education,  political 
institutions,  and  religion,  all  the  people  are 
merged  into  one  Chinese  Empire.  The  adminis- 
tration of  China  has  often  developed  cases  of 
local  friction,  but  the  great  balance-wheel  of  the 
State  is  Confucian  education.  The  examinations 
are  open  to  all  competitors,  high  or  low,  poor  or 
rich,  and  result  in  the  development  of  an  aris- 
tocracy of  neither  blood  nor  wealth,  but  of  learn- 
ing. This  privileged  class,  the  literati,  is  the 
most  patriotic  portion  of  the  population,  and 
holds  the  balance  of  power  in  Nation,  Province, 
and  Prefecture. 

To  secure  the  proper  government  of  the  people 
is  one  of  the  avowed  ends  of  Confucianism,  and 
is  attained  when  the  State  has  at  its  service  able 
men  for  official  posts.  The  Chinese  have  a say- 
ing that,  “ The  general  and  the  prime  minister  are 
not  born  in  office.”  In  their  absolute  monarchy 
there  is  a democracy  of  learning  up  through 
which  the  aspirant  is  supposed  to  rise  only  by 
dint  of  ability.  Confucianism  and  the  State,  as 
joint  partners,  prepare  men  for  government  serv- 
ice; Church  and  State  are  united  in  education,  as 
in  every  function  of  government.  The  Chinese 
do  not  consider  the  two  as  antagonistic,  but  as 
closely  and  sympathetically  related.  Should  they 
change  their  religion,  that  change  would  have  a 
political  and  educational  bearing  of  the  greatest 
possible  importance. 

Daily  life,  the  newspapers,  and  the  problems 


il8  Power  of  Literati 

of  government  constantly  give  evidence  of  the 
power  of  literary  men.  In  the  spring  of  1898, 
there  was  a scarcity  of  rice  in  the  large  city  of 
Ningpo.  As  rice  is  the  main  article  of  food,  this 
scarcity  raised  the  price,  and  threatened  to  pro- 
duce a condition  of  semi-starvation  among  the 
people.  In  addition  to  this,  the  taxation  in  the 
hands  of  the  local  publicans  was  very  grievous, 
and  3,000  of  the  tiers-etats  organized  themselves 
into  a party  of  remonstrants.  The  city  Custom 
House  was  torn  to  the  ground.  The  Court 
House  or  Yamen  of  the  city  judge  was  visited, 
and  as  justice  was  not  done  them,  the  Court 
House  was  destroyed,  and  the  mob  proceeded 
to  the  Taotai’s  Yamen,  inaccurately  described  (as 
is  the  case  with  all  such  analogies),  as  the 
Mayor’s  official  residence,  where  a small  battle 
occurred  with  the  soldiers.  Getting  no  redress 
at  the  Custom’s,  the  Judge’s  or  the  Mayor’s,  the 
remonstrants  decided  as  a last  resort  to  visit  the 
chief  scholar  of  this  city  of  300,000  people.  He 
was  considered  to  be  able  to  right  their  wrongs 
when  others  could  not  or  would  not.  On  reach- 
ing this  final  court  of  appeal,  they  found  that  the 
scholar,  preferring  not  to  arbitrate  the  question, 
had  left  his  residence,  which,  by  the  way  of  re- 
minder, was  razed  to  the  ground!  Having  done 
all  that  was  on  the  programme,  the  rioters  dis- 
persed, and  after  suitable  delay  the  demands  of 
the  people  were  met  by  the  authorities.  All 
office-holders  are  literati;  but  the  position  of  the 
non-office-holding  literati  is  even  more  signifi- 


Patriotism  of  Students  119 

cant,  as  shown  in  the  preceding  incident  and  the 
one  which  follows. 

The  Shanghai  Taotai  decided  to  build  a ma- 
cadamized carriage  road  from  the  new  Chinese 
bund  or  water-front  boulevard,  to  his  Yamen  in 
the  walled  city.  In  all  such  matters  the  Taotai 
is  legally  supreme;  there  is  no  legislature,  or 
aldermen,  to  appeal  to.  But  the  literati  decided 
to  oppose  the  building  of  the  road,  and  the  road 
was  not  built. 

The  country  was  greatly  disturbed,  in  1897-8, 
when  the  Germans  seized  Kiao  Chou  Bay,  and 
the  Russians  took  Port  Arthur.  The  students 
organized  a national  Patriotic  Association,  which 
was  spoken  of  by  one  of  the  members  as  fol- 
lows: “A  squad  of  German  soldiers  having 

made  their  way  to  Kao  Mi,  a town  adjacent  to 
Kiao  Chou,  some  of  them  entered  the  temple  of 
Confucius,  broke  off  an  arm  of  the  sage  and 
carried  it  away  as  a trophy  destined  to  figure  in  a 
Berlin  Museum.  This  was  more  than  Chinese 
pride  could  stand.  The  story  was  industriously 
circulated  among  the  scholars  of  the  Empire  as- 
sembled for  the  triennial  Metropolitan  exami- 
nations. A petition  to  the  Throne  was  drawn  up, 
in  which  the  signers  pledged  their  lives,  fortunes 
and  sacred  honor,  to  aid  in  sweeping  the  country 
of  its  foes.  The  next  step  was  to  organize,  and 
this  was  done  by  the  adoption  of  a constitution 
of  thirty  articles,  and  twenty-five  by-laws.” 
It  begins  by  saying:  “This  Patriotic  club  is 

formed  for  the  defense  of  the  Empire,  in  view 


120  Results  of  the  Examinations 

of  the  fact  that  our  territory  is  daily  sliced  away, 
the  powers  of  the  Government  daily  circum- 
scribed, and  the  people  more  and  more  op- 
pressed,'’ etc.  “The  three  things  to  be  defended 
are  ‘the  territory,  the  people,  and  the  religion.’” 
The  constitution  prescribed  that  throughout  the 
Empire  this  Association  be  established  in  cities 
and  towns,  and  that  through  each  local  club  a 
system  of  preaching  be  begun,  conducted  by  the 
literati.  As  no  such  thing  is  indigenous  to  China, 
it  is  seen  that  the  Association  was  copying  the 
methods  of  the  missionaries  in  spreading  Chris- 
tianity. “The  texts  for  discourses  shall  be  con- 
fined to  ‘ themes  relating  to  the  preservation  of 
the  State,  the  religion,  the  people,  and  the 
race.’  ” 

The  competitive  Civil  Service  Examinations  of 
China  result  in:  First:  A literary  caste,  which 
fills  practically  all  the  offices  of  the  Empire,  and 
which  is,  therefore,  the  ruling  force  in  the  affairs 
of  China,  influencing  the  Throne,  and  providing 
the  administrators  of  the  Government.  Second: 
The  literati  are  the  guardians  of  letters,  and  the 
exemplars  of  the  “orthodox”  religion.  With 
them,  letters  and  religion  are  not  distinct,  but  the 
inseparable  parts  of  a whole.  Third:  Not  only 

are  they  the  practical  rulers  of  the  Empire,  but  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  Western  civilization  or 
progress,  commercial  and  educational,  they  were 
up  to  1898  the  most  absolutely  conservative. 
Fourth : Not  only  have  they  been  the  rulers  and 

the  conservatives  of  China,  but  the  student  class 


Opponents  of  Christianity  121 

was  in  the  nineteenth  century  Christianity’s 
strongest  opponent.  Besides  blocking  the 
wheels  of  what  all  Western  nations  consider 
progress,  they,  as  a class,  for  years  stood  athwart 
the  pathway  of  Christianity  with  sullen  defiance. 


XIV 

THE  WHITE-DEER  COLLEGE 

FOUR  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yangtsze  River,  and  thirty 
miles  south  of  its  banks  from  Kiu  Kiang 
is  a famous  Confucian  college.  The  writer,  with 
three  other  Americans,  tramped  over  the  Lu 
Mountains,  formerly  the  site  of  four  hundred 
monasteries  and  temples,  in  search  of  the  White- 
Deer  College,  which  was  reputed  to  stand  be- 
tween the  mountain  precipices  and  the  sacred 
Poyang  Lake. 

Having  descended  the  south  slope  of  the  Lu 
Shan  we  walked  on,  now  among  the  stunted 
pines,  and  now  over  stretches  of  arid,  red  sand 
stone.  An  old  woman  in  the  doorway  of  a mud 
palace,  said  it  was  three  li  (i  mile)  to  the  White- 
Deer  College,  and  a little  farther  on  a pretty 
young  woman,  in  blue  and  white  costume,  who 
was  superintending  her  maid  spreading  out  some 
cloth  to  dry  in  the  sun,  said  it  was  five  li  to  the 
college, — and  the  talent  for  inaccuracy  in  this 
people  was  again  illustrated.  Winding  along 
the  paths, — there  are  no  “ roads,” — we  passed  by 
many  fields  in  the  midst  of  which  men  were 
threshing  rice.  A large,  rectangular,  wooden  bin 
had  been  taken  to  the  field,  and  the  sheaves  of 


122 


THE  WIIITE-DEER  COLLEGE. 

A SEAT  OF  CONFUCIAN  LEARNING  OLDER  TUAN  OXFORD. 


Older  than  Oxford 


123 


rice  were  brought  near  it.  Four  men,  one  at 
each  corner  of  the  bin,  beat  out  the  rice,  tossing 
the  straw  to  one  side.  The  rice  was  cut  over- 
ripe, we  should  say,  and  shelled  out  easily  into 
the  bin — even  leaving  quite  a proportion  of  its 
fruitage  on  the  field. 

The  path  wound  around  a hill  and  brought  us 
to  a high  “compound”  wall,  red  in  part  and 
white  in  part.  Passing  by  the  lesser  gates,  we 
entered  under  gilded  idiographs  into  the  court- 
yard of  a college,  older  than  any  University  in 
Europe.  This  ancient  seat  of  learning  was  re- 
built  when  the  banners  of  the  third  Crusade  were 
advancing  on  Jerusalem,  and  the  real  birth  date 
of  the  college  is  lost  in  the  vistas  of  history. 

Chu  Fu  Tzu,  or  Chu  Hsi  as  he  is  otherwise 
known,  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  Confucian 
commentators,  and  in  the  account  of  his  life, 
written  by  Dean  McClatchie,  there  occurs  this 
statement:  “In  the  year  1179,  Chu  Fu  Tzu  was 

appointed  governor  of  Nan  Kang  in  the  province 
of  Kiangsi,  where  he  built  a sacrificial  court  in 
honor  of  the  philosopher  Ling  Chi,  and  rebuilt 
the  college  in  the  valley  of  the  White-Deer.  He 
also  purchased  lands  for  the  support  of  the 
scholars,  established  a code  of  collegiate  rules, 
and  frequently  visited  the  college  for  the  purpose 
of  instructing  the  students,  in  consequence  of 
which  many  of  them  rose  to  eminence.” 

We  stood  in  Chu  Hsi’s  venerable  college,  and 
presently  one,  two,  three,  hesitating,  inquisi- 
tive men  with  long  finger-nails,  approached,  and 


124  Inspecting  a Guest 

stood  awkwardly  about.  After  a word  of  greet- 
ing we  were  shown  the  main  eating  room  where 
high  square  tables,  benches  with  no  backs,  rice 
bowls  and  chop-sticks  were  chiefly  in  evidence. 
Looking  around  for  the  New  York  man  of  the 
party  we  saw  him  still  in  the  outer  court,  beset 
by  two  importunate  students.  They  had  begun 
with  his  shoes,  the  laces  and  metal  eye-holes 
being  duly  explained.  They  took  in  his  stock- 
ings, which  were  black,  in  curious  contradistinc- 
tion to  a Chinese  gentleman’s  white  hose.  They 
fingered  his  white  duck  trousers  and  coat,  anx- 
ious to  know  the  cost.  The  chief  Confucian 
inquisitor  proceeded  to  ask  and  to  prove  how 
many  sets  of  garments  a foreigner  wears  on  his 
arms.  This  coincided  with  the  three  coats  which 
the  Chinese  expect  to  wear  in  weather  some- 
what colder.  When  they  had  reached  the  New 
Yorker’s  huge  pith-hat,  there  was  an  outburst  of 
ill-mannered  laughter.  This  prince  of  Chinese 
investigators  held  the  piece  of  head  gear  in  his 
hand  and  commented  on  its  lightness  in  compar- 
ison to  its  umbrella  dimensions.  He  made  this 
sally,  “What  is  your  honorable  hat  made  of  ? ” 
The  New  Yorker  being  yet  young  in  China  could 
not  recall  the  Chinese  expression  for  “pith,”  and 
turned  to  another  of  the  party  to  ask.  Then 
came  an  ironical  burst  of  glee — “This  foreign 
teacher  does  not  know  what  his  own  hat  is 
made  of!  ” 

We  were  permitted  to  wander  at  will  among 
the  eight  courts  which  housed  the  four  hundred 


12  5 


The  College  Sanctums 

or  more  students  in  those  palmy  days  of  Con- 
fucian  education  before  it  was  confessed  that  the 
Empire  needed  men  who  were  qualified  for  more 
practical  tasks  than  the  writing  of  verses  to  the 
stars,  the  flowers  and  the  winds. 

The  students  slept  two  in  a room  and  each 
room  opened  out  upon  a paved  and  uncovered 
court.  Each  student  had  curtains  over  his  bed,  a 
bench,  or  Chinese  chair,  and  perhaps  a table,  and 
looked  comfortable  rather  than  otherwise.  One 
saw  evidence  of  shiftlessness,  and  wondered  if 
the  great  Chii  Fu  Tzu  was  wise  in  providing 
during  all  these  ages  free  tuition  and  support  for 
each  student.  If  it  cost  these  young  men  more 
to  gain  classical  learning  they  would  prize  it 
more  for  its  own  sake.  At  the  head  of  one 
court,  instead  of  teacher’s  quarters  and  a class 
room,  we  entered  a high  pillared  shrine-room. 
Here  behind  red  curtains  sat  the  massive  statue 
of  Chii  Fu  Tzu,  the  object  of  reverence  and 
worship,  the  intellectual  father  of  these  White- 
Deer  students.  There  was  an  inscription  high 
above  his  throne  and  on  either  side  were  tablets, 
standing  on  curtained  altars,  to  the  memory  of 
the  great  commentator’s  disciples. 

Passing  through  a circular  doorway  we  reached 
the  next  court  and  it  was  apparent  that  we  were 
at  last  in  the  sanctum  of  the  college.  This  court 
was  largely  occupied  by  a miniature  temple. 
The  great  double  red  doors  were  barred — only  to 
be  opened  on  state  occasions.  We  went  in  at  a 
side  door,  and  presently  stood  before  the  tablet 


126  Hauteur  of  a Professor 

and  strange  to  say  the  image  of  Confucius. 
Chu’s  Buddhistic  leanings  may  account  for  this 
image,  contrary  to  Confucian  custom.  The  room, 
the  carved  statue  of  the  man  and  the  inscriptions 
were  all  on  a larger  scale  than  those  of  Chu  Fu 
Tzu. 

Before  we  left  the  college  we  found  a teacher 
sitting  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  courts  with  a 
bandage  about  his  head.  He  was  not  glad  to  see 
us,  his  malaria  possibly  accounted  for  his  in- 
civility, which,  however,  might  have  been  aggra- 
vated by  the  fact  that  two  of  the  company  forgot 
to  remove  their  spectacles  on  coming  into  his 
presence.  However  his  frigidity  wore  off,  and 
when  it  came  out  that  the  foreigners  could  write 
(more  or  less)  as  well  as  talk  his  native  language, 
the  professor  rose  slowly  and  stood  as  he  talked 
with  us.  Enquiring  if  we  were  students  he 
seemed  first  abashed  and  then  incredulous  when 
he  learned  that  all  his  interlocutors  were  second 
degree  men.  He  looked  as  much  as  to  say 
“These  foreign  chaps  must  have  bought  their 
degrees,  if  they  really  have  them  ” — not  an  un- 
natural thought  for  a Chinese. 

At  length  when  the  professor  was  thawed  out, 
to  the  point  of  civility  at  least,  the  Bostonian  in 
the  party  produced,  from  his  impedimenta,  a 
large  package  of  Chinese  books.  The  professor, 
with  a quizzical  look  on  his  face,  received  a beau- 
tifully illustrated  life  of  Christ,  and  Dr.  Faber’s 
four  volume  Commentary  on  the  Classics,  from 
a Christian  standpoint.  The  learned  man  saw 


THE  KIUKIANG  INSTITUTE. 

TRAINING  SCHOOL  FOR  CHRISTIAN  WORKERS. 


A Scramble  over  Books  127 

the  beauty  of  the  printing,  and  bowed  his 
acknowledgments.  Then  ensued  a scramble 
among  the  students  for  the  remaining  books. 
One  fine-looking  fellow  secured  a large  volumed 
commentary  on  St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke,  and  three 
or  four  others  chased  him  to  his  room  in  the 
attempt  to  get  it  from  him. 

We  left  the  scholar  and  his  students  earnestly 
poring  over  the  books,  and  went  out  of  the  com- 
pound. By  the  banks  of  a sparkling  brook  we 
spread  our  luncheon  and  while  talking  over  the 
experiences  of  the  day,  a messenger  arrived  from 
the  professor.  He  was  instructed  to  say  that 
the  books  were  much  appreciated,  that  it  was 
most  kind  of  us  to  bring  them;  and  might  he 
ask  that  we  bring  another  installment,  especially 
the  Commentary  on  the  Classics?  We  assured 
the  messenger  that  in  two  weeks  or  so  books 
could  be  secured  from  Shanghai  and  would 
gladly  be  sent. 

The  White-Deer  College,  hoary  with  age,  has 
been  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Confucianism. 
The  greatest  interpreter  of  Confucius  refounded 
it  to  be  a place  of  deep  searching  into  the  doc- 
trines of  the  “ Princely  Man,”  the  “ Great  Learn- 
ing,” and  other  truistic  and  altruistic  teachings  of 
the  Sage  of  China.  But  now,  with  the  decadence 
of  years,  it  is  a sleepy  and  degenerate  cloister 
especially  when  compared  with  the  Christian 
college  located  thirty  miles  away.  There  was  a 
great  contrast  between  the  keen,  alert,  well  kept 
students  and  Chinese  teachers  at  Kiu  Kiang,  in 


128  Colleges  Contrasted 

their  orderly  college  buildings,  and  what  we  had 
seen  behind  the  ivy  grown  walls  of  the  cele- 
brated White-Deer  College.  The  one  represented 
a strong,  a masterful  civilization,  the  latter  had 
upon  it  the  mildew  of  decline. 


XV 

CLASSICAL  IDEALS  OF  SCHOLARSHIP 

THE  whole  system  of  Confucian  education 
pivots  on  the  “taking  of  texts”  and  their 
exegesis.  The  student  is  seated  in  the 
examination  hall,  and,  amidst  a profound  silence 
a text  from  the  Classics  is  proclaimed.  He  has 
so  committed  to  memory  the  entire  tomes  of 
sacred  literature  that,  hearing  the  “text,”  he  puts 
pen  to  paper,  quotes  literally  and  voluminously 
from  memory  and  writes  his  thesis,  which  must 
not  vary  in  exegesis  from  the  standard  commen- 
tator, Chu  Hsi.  His  quotations  in  support  of  his 
argument  must  not  contain  a flaw  in  penman- 
ship, nor  an  error  in  recollecting  a passage,  and 
if  he  deviates  from  the  orthodoxy  of  the  great 
commentator  he  is  doomed  to  failure. 

In  pointing  out  the  essence  of  scholarship, 
Confucius  gave  epigrammatic  sanction  to  a great 
truth,  “ Learning,  undigested  by  thought,  is  labor 
lost;  thought  unassisted  by  learning,  is  perilous.” 
This  profound  statement  has  received  the  assent 
of  generations  of  scholars  only  to  be  lost  sight  of 
in  their  general  unthinking  acceptation  of  all 
Confucius  has  written.  Mencius,  the  great  suc- 
cessor and  disciple  of  Confucius,  whose  works 
are  part  of  the  canon,  pointed  out  with  evident 
129 


130  Philosophy  of  Morals 

pride  that  since  the  Emperor  Shun  appointed  the 
first  minister  of  education,  all  the  national  literary 
lights  have  followed  in  the  trodden  paths  of 
thought,  but  that  “ learning  undigested  by 
thought  is  labor  lost,”  is  ignored. 

It  has  been  said  that,  “Chinese  degrees  repre- 
sent talent,  not  knowledge,”  and  it  may  be  added 
that  it  is  a variety  of  talent  which  our  utilitarian 
age  is  slow  to  appreciate.  Mencius  has  sketched 
the  characteristics  of  an  ideal  scholar,  and  begins 
by  saying  that,  “he  elevates  his  will.”  The 
Sage  does  not  expand  this  psychological  dictum, 
but  in  it  he  evidently  went  to  the  root  of  mental- 
moral  development.  The  man  who  will  become 
a real  scholar  has  the  motive  within  himself,  he 
“looks  not  for  external  inducement,”  nor  is 
coaxed  by  prizes  or  favors.  The  true  student 
has  a well  poised  judgment,  and  refuses  to  be- 
lieve that  might  makes  right.  “ He  delights  in 
principle,  in  the  essence  of  justice,  and  forgets 
force.”  The  student  “receives  no  revenue  from 
the  Government  without  office,  but  accepts 
gifts.”  He  does  not  aspire  to  be  on  the  Govern- 
ment pay-roll  unless  actually  serving  the  Gov- 
ernment, but  if  individual  officials  desire  to 
assist  him  by  gifts,  he  does  not  compromise  his 
dignity  by  receiving  them.  He  is  not,  however, 
to  become  a charity  student. 

With  true  Oriental  flavor  Mencius  wrote,  “the 
scholar  does  not  forget  the  dignity  of  his  calling, 
nor  its  requirements,”  and  the  parable  of  Feng 
Fu  and  the  Tiger  hunt  was  cited  to  illustrate  the 


Feng  Fu  131 

statement.  “ There  lived  amongst  the  people  of 
Chin  one  Feng  Fu;  he  was  skilled  in  tiger- 
hunting, but  afterwards  became  a famous 
scholar.  As  such,  he  went  to  the  wild  district, 
where  the  people  were  hunting  a tiger.  The 
tiger  turned  at  bay  in  an  angle  of  a hill,  where 
no  one  ventured  to  approach  it.  Seeing  Feng  Fu 
at  a distance,  they  ran  to  meet  him.  He  rolled 
up  his  sleeves  and  descended  from  his  carriage. 
The  whole  crowd  were  delighted,  but  the  scholars 
laughed  at  him.”  To  slay  a tiger  was  not  in  the 
regular  programme  of  the  scholar’s  duties,  and, 
no  matter  what  the  vulgar  crowd  approved,  he 
should  not  have  lowered  himself  by  attacking  the 
beast.  One  scarcely  trusts  himself  to  think  of 
the  impression  which  the  game  of  Rugby  foot- 
ball would  make  on  a group  of  orthodox  scholars 
in  China. 

“ The  scholar  is  a singular  being  ” in  his  tastes, 
his  behavior,  his  ambitions.  And  Confucius  in 
all  seriousness  observes,  “ If  the  scholar  be  not 
grave,  he  will  not  call  forth  any  veneration,  and 
his  learning  will  not  be  solid.” 

Still  further  light  on  the  role  of  the  student  is 
shed  by  Confucius’  “Great  Learning.”  Chii  Hsi 
introduces  it  by  saying  that,  “ The  Great  Learning 
is  a book  left  by  Confucius,  and  forms  the  gate 
by  which  first  learners  enter  into  virtue.  That 
we  can  now  perceive  the  order  in  which  the 
ancients  pursued  their  learning,  is  solely  owing 
to  the  preservation  of  this  work,  the  Analects 
and  Mencius  coming  after  it.  Learners  must 


132  The  Great  Learning 

commence  their  course  with  this,  and  it  may  be 
hoped  they  will  be  kept  from  error.” 

The  larger  part  of  the  volume  “Great  Learn- 
ing” is  occupied  by  the  expanders  and  anno- 
tators through  whose  hands  it  has  come.  But 
the  Confucian  monograph  is  of  such  intrinsic 
value,  so  condensed,  and  so  fundamental  to  our 
subject,  that  it  is  given  entire. 

“ The  Great  Learning  teaches  how  to  illustrate 
illustrious  virtue,  to  renovate  the  people,  and  to 
rest  in  highest  excellence. 

“The  point  where  to  rest  being  known,  the 
object  of  pursuit  is  then  determined;  and  that 
being  determined,  a calm  imperturbedness  may 
be  attained.  To  that  calmness  there  will  succeed 
a tranquil  repose.  In  that  repose  there  may  be 
careful  deliberation,  and  that  deliberation  will  be 
followed  by  the  attainment  of  the  desired  end. 

“Things  have  their  root  and  their  completion. 
Affairs  have  their  end  and  their  beginning.  To 
know  what  is  first  and  what  is  last  will  lead  near 
to  what  is  taught  in  the  Great  Learning. 

“The  ancients  who  wished  to  illustrate  illus- 
trious virtue  throughout  the  Empire,  first  ordered 
well  their  own  States.  Wishing  to  order  well 
their  States,  they  first  regulated  their  families. 
Wishing  to  regulate  their  families,  they  first 
cultivated  their  persons.  Wishing  to  cultivate 
their  persons,  they  first  rectified  their  hearts. 
Wishing  to  rectify  their  hearts,  they  first  sought 
to  be  sincere  in  their  thoughts.  Wishing  to  be 
sincere  in  their  thoughts,  they  first  extended  to 


The  Great  Learning  133 

the  utmost  their  knowledge.  Such  extension  of 
knowledge  lay  in  the  investigation  of  things. 

“Things  being  investigated,  knowledge  be- 
came complete.  Their  knowledge  being  com- 
plete, their  thoughts  were  sincere.  Their 
thoughts  being  sincere,  their  hearts  were  then 
rectified.  Their  hearts  being  rectified,  their  per- 
sons were  cultivated.  Their  persons  being  cul- 
tivated, their  families  were  regulated.  Their 
families  being  regulated,  their  States  were  rightly 
governed.  Their  States  being  rightly  governed, 
the  whole  Empire  was  made  tranquil  and  happy. 

“From  the  Emperor  down  to  the  mass  of  the 
people,  all  must  consider  the  cultivation  of  the 
person  the  root  of  everything  besides. 

“ It  cannot  be,  when  the  root  is  neglected,  that 
what  should  spring  from  it  will  be  well  ordered. 
It  never  has  been  the  case  that  what  was  of  great 
importance  has  been  slightly  cared  for,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  that  what  was  of  slight  impor- 
tance has  been  greatly  cared  for.” 

The  province  of  the  State  is  to  examine  men, 
the  province  of  the  student  is  to  prepare  himself 
alone,  by  employing  a private  tutor,  or  in  a small 
group  at  the  feet  of  a noted  teacher.  Mencius 
heartily  deplored  the  inefficiency  of  many  Chi- 
nese teachers,  saying:  “The  talented  used  to 
make  men  enlightened  through  their  enlighten- 
ment; now  they  make  men  enlightened  by  their 
obscurity.”  “The  joiner  and  the  wheelwright 
can  give  a man  the  compass  and  square,  but  can- 
not make  him  skillful  with  them,”  said  he  in 


134  The  Sage  as  a Teacher 

drawing  the  distinction  between  men  who  are 
equipped,  and  men  who  know  how  to  use  their 
equipment. 

The  Chinese  sage  received  his  student-dis- 
ciples much  as  did  the  Greek  philosophers.  Our 
organization,  discipline,  and  methods  would 
have  seemed  supremely  cumbersome  to  him. 
Mencius  remarked,  “1  have  opened  a class;  go 
not  after  those  who  leave,  and  reject  not  those 
who  come.”  He  pictured  the  process  of  training 
his  disciples  and  said  there  were  five  methods  of 
dealing  with  students.  The  receptive  are  in- 
fluenced like  timely  rain,  while  others  require 
moral  pruning.  Some  must  have  their  talents 
brought  out  by  specialization,  others,  of  critical 
natures,  will  depend  on  asking  questions.  Each 
Sage-teacher  will  have  a chosen  few  whom  he 
teaches  privately,  and  to  whom  he  entrusts  the 
genius  of  truth.  But  Confucius  was  a severer 
master;  “ I do  not  open  up  the  truth  to  one  who 
is  not  eager  to  get  knowledge,  nor  help  out  any 
one  who  is  not  anxious  to  explain  himself. 
When  I have  presented  one  corner  of  a subject 
to  any  one,  and  he  cannot  from  it  learn  the  other 
three,  I do  not  repeat  my  lesson.”  In  the  mind 
of  Mencius  the  teacher  was  classed  with  the 
ruler,  both  were  chosen  by  Heaven  and  given 
prominence  throughout  the  Empire  in  order  that 
the  “common  people”  might  be  governed  and 
instructed.  The  teacher  has  a “divine  right”  as 
well  as  the  Emperor. 

The  question  is  not  raised  by  the  Chinese  as  to 


Eight-Legged  Essays  135 

the  truth  or  adequacy  of  Confucian  scholarship, 
the  very  thought  is  an  affront  to  the  mind.  “ All 
that  was  said  by  the  sages  is  true;  therefore  all 
truth  was  spoken  by  the  sages,”  is  the  way  Dr. 
Smith  puts  it.  The  nation  for  ages  has  been 
ruminating  the  wisdom  of  the  past,  children  have 
memorized  poetical  and  historical  archaics, 
wooden  minded  tutors  have  insisted  on  listless 
repetitions  of  Wen  Li  or  classical  records,  and 
literary  men  have  for  years  staked  their  fame  on 
the  eight-legged  Wen  Chang.  The  Wen  Chang 
is  a style  of  composition  of  ancient  and  arbitrary 
origin,  which  stretches  the  elastic  thought  upon 
a cruel  rack.  The  eight  legs  upon  which  the 
essay  stands  are  as  rigid  as  if  cut  out  of  wood 
with  a saw.  “The  number  of  characters 
[words],  and  for  the  most  part  their  meaning  and 
purport  in  each  leg  must  agree  with  those  of  the 
corresponding  leg.  The  least  slip  would  be 
fatal  to  success.  To  make  these  numbers  cor- 
respond required  the  unceasing,  untiring  and  in- 
defatigable labor  of  years,  and  the  strain  of  the 
continued,  agonizing  effort  during  the  three  days 
of  incarceration  in  the  damp  cheerless  cell  is 
something  awful.  Candidates  sometimes  die 
under  the  ordeal,  and  the  strong  man  who  went 
in  well,  comes  out  looking  like  a corpse.”1 
Much  of  the  essaying  is  also  versification,  and 
so  fixed  is  the  position  of  the  idiographs  that 
should  perspicuity  be  gained  at  the  expense  of 


1 Rev.  S.  Isett  Woodbridge  on  The  Eight  Legged  Essay. 


136  Rigidity  of  Expression 


an  unlawful  mixing  of  characters  it  would  result 
in  “death  to  success,”  and  the  candidate’s  name 
might  be  publicly  posted  as  unworthy  to  be 
again  entered  for  competition  for  Chu  Jen  honors. 


XVI 


MORAL  TRAINING  OF  THE  PRINCELY  MAN 


HERE  can  be  no  appreciation,  or  depre- 


ciation, of  Chinese  studies,  without  a 


closer  examination  of  “the  master’s” 


purpose.  The  Chinese  “have  the  loftiest  moral 
code  which  the  human  mind  unaided  by  divine 
revelation  has  ever  produced,  and  its  crystal- 
line precepts  have  been  the  rich  inheritance  of 
every  successive  present  from  every  successive 
past.”1  The  concensus  of  opinion  is  that  Con- 
fucius did  not  teach  morals  for  the  sake  of  the 
individual,  but  to  secure  the  stability  and  peace 
of  the  Empire.  The  Great  Learning  has  already 
been  quoted,  the  motive  of  which  is  contained  in 
the  words,  “the  whole  Empire  was  made  tran- 
quil and  happy.”  The  teaching  is  politico-moral, 
far  in  advance  of  what  one  expects,  and  in  some 
of  its  flights  approaches  the  teaching  of  Holy 
Writ  but  only  to  descend  again  to  the  maxims  of 
a commonplace  expediency. 

The  Sage  remarks  that,  “ Perfect  knowledge 
ought  to  be  followed  by  the  choice  of  what  is 
good,”  and  he  made  bold  to  say,  “ When  a man's 
knowledge  is  sufficient  to  attain,  and  his  virtue 
is  not  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  hold,  whatever 


1 China  in  Convulsion,  p.  6. 

r37 


138  Moral  Teaching 

he  may  have  gained  he  will  lose  again.”  That  the 
perfunctory  passing  of  examinations  is  not  enough 
to  ensure  good  officials  was  emphasized  by  Men- 
cius, “Intellect  and  character  are  the  essential 
requirements  for  high  positions  of  trust.” 

The  most  remarkable  teaching  of  the  Classics 
is  undoubtedly  found  in  the  fifteenth  book  of  the 
Analects,  and  uttered  500  years  before  Christ. 
Tzu  Rung  asked,  “Is  there  one  good  word 
which  may  serve  as  a rule  of  practice  for  all  one’s 
life?”  The  master  replied:  “Is  not  Reciprocity 
such  a word?  What  you  do  not  want  done  to 
yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.” 

Confucius  dwells  often  upon  the  princely  or 
superior  man,1  and  Dr.  Faber  has  collected  these 
widely  distributed  sayings  into  a systematic 
order.2  Following  this  in  outline,  it  is  interest- 
ing to  see  the  rungs  in  the  ladder  up  which  the 
man  of  princely  characteristics  must  climb.  He 
begins  with  ‘ ‘ The  study  or  distinction  of  things,” 
relating  to  man,  not  nature,  and  involving  a 
classification  of  the  things  studied.  The  student 
will  not  be  “gluttonous  in  eating,”  “nor  seek 
comforts  at  home,”  but  be  careful  in  speech,  and 
by  proper  associations  “rectify”  his  conduct. 
If  he  gives  up  his  studies  he  degenerates. 

He  then  comes  to  “The  completion  of  knowl- 
edge,” that  knowledge  which  results  from  study. 


1 The  term  Chun  means  literally  Prince,  but  Chinese  sino- 
logues have  generally  rendered  it,  the  Superior  Man. 

2 Systematical  Digest  of  the  Doctrines  of  Confucius. 


“ Completion  of  Knowledge 


139 


Necessary  knowledge  is  said  to  embrace  one’s 
destiny,  propriety,  the  use  of  words,  knowledge 
of  men  and  knowledge  of  the  history  of  China. 
Mencius  believes  that  real  knowledge  will  lead 
its  possessor  to  moral  choices,  and  this  belief 
permeates  Confucian  teaching. 

The  student  at  length  reaches  the  point  where 
he  has  “veracity  of  intention,”  where  he  sets  his 
will  on  honorable  living,  especially  in  secret. 
The  will  is  steadied  and  “rightly  directed  when 
it  is  set  on  learning,”  reasons  this  quaint  philoso- 
pher. The  feelings  and  desires,  including  pleas- 
ure, anger,  pain,  joy,  are  to  be  controlled  and 
adjusted  by  a proper  growth  in  wisdom.  “ Car- 
nal love,”  “self-love,”  and  “the  love  of  riches,” 
are  bad  impulses.  The  “ love  of  study,”  “love 
of  humanity,”  “ love  of  righteousness,”  “ love  of 
propriety,”  “good  faith,”  and  “virtue  in  gen- 
eral,” are  good  impulses  and  lead  to  the  “rectifi- 
cation of  the  heart,”  which  is  followed  by  “the 
cultivation  of  the  whole  person.”  The  princely 
man  must  be  “cautious  in  speaking.”  “When 
one  speaks,  it  should  be  to  the  point,  and  he 
speaks,  or  is  silent,  at  the  proper  time.”  He 
must  observe  also  the  “rules  of  conduct,”  which 
involve  four  important  relationships, — the  proper 
serving  of  the  father  by  the  son,  the  proper  serv- 
ing of  the  prince  by  the  subject,  the  younger 
brother  must  serve  the  older  brother,  friends  are 
to  be  treated  as  one  would  wish  them  to  treat 
him.  The  princely  man  must  needs  “ guard  his 
virtue,”  for  it  is  of  “divine  nature and  without 


140 


Filial  Piety 

valor  he  will  fail,  for  “Who  sees  what  is  right 
and  does  it  not  is  a coward.” 

The  self-controlled  man  has  now  reached  a 
stage  where  he  can  attain  unto  “humanity,”  of 
which  it  is  said,  “filial  piety  and  brotherly  love 
are  its  basis.”  He  practices  towards  men  the 
five  virtues  of  dignity,  indulgence,  sincerity, 
earnestness  and  kindness. 

The  superior  man  finds  that  his  nature  must  be 
further  cultivated  by  observances  of  loyalty, 
which  lead  to  reverence  of  his  parents,  superiors, 
the  Government,  spiritual  beings  and  religious 
observances.  But  this  only  brings  him  to  an- 
other step  in  the  incline;  he  must  practice  faith 
in  his  dealings  with  men.  “Without  confidence 
men  cannot  get  on,  as  carriages  cannot  without 
cross-bars  to  which  the  beasts  are  harnessed.” 
To  this  faith,  or  confidence  in  relationships,  the 
superior  man  must  add  “earnestness,  action  in 
place  of  passivity,”  and  avoid  “difficulties”  aris- 
ing from  pride,  arbitrariness,  resentment,  desire, 
etc. 

The  management  of  the  family  is  reduced  to  a 
minute  system  in  China.  The  leading  principles 
are  six  in  number,  (i)  Filial  piety.  “Mere  sup- 
port of  one’s  parents  without  reverence  is 
beastly.”  “ Filial  piety  is  shown,  after  the  death 
of  parents,  in  not  changing  the  customs  of  the 
father  for  three  years.”  “To  serve  the  dead  as 
the  living,  the  departed  as  the  present,”  this  is 
the  greatest  of  family  virtues.  (2)  Fraternal  love 
which  refers  primarily  to  the  rule  of  the  older 


Management  of  the  Family  141 

brother  over  the  younger.  (3)  Friendship  should 
be  cultivated  with  “the  upright,  the  sincere,  and 
the  experienced,  but  not  with  the  haughty,  the 
coxcomb,  or  with  the  glib-tongued.”  (4)  There 
should  be  no  practice  of  “squeezing,”  or  usury. 
(5)  The  proper  “ceremonies”  should  be  culti- 
vated, and  observed.  Confucius  would  trans- 
gress the  rules  of  propriety  enough  to  “ cane”  a 
man  who  was  insolent  to  him.  (6)  Music  is 
strongly  urged  as  an  element  in  “the  manage- 
ment” of  the  family,  and  Confucius  confesses 
that  he  lost  his  taste  for  meat  for  three  months, 
having  been  charmed  by  exquisite  music. 

In  the  development  of  men  of  princely  traits, 
the  preceding  steps  land  them  finally  on  the  emi- 
nence of  national  security  and  peace.  The  study 
of  things,  the  completion  of  knowledge,  th  - 
veracity  of  intention,  the  rectification  of  the 
heart,  the  cultivation  of  the  whole  person,  and 
the  management  of  the  family,  culminate  in  the 
order  of  the  State.  There  need  be  no  argument 
from  a foreign  pen  to  show  that  Confucius’ 
theory  of  morals  is  part  and  parcel  of  his  political 
economy.  But  Dr.  Faber  observes,  “ Ethics 
were  to  him  (Confucius)  so  closely  bound  up 
with  external  forms  or  rites,  that  his  disciples  for 
the  most  part  lost  themselves  in  the  rites  and 
neglected  the  morals.”1 

There  are  surprising  omissions  in  his  moral 
philosophy,  and  the  responsibility  for  polygamy 


JThe  Mind  of  Mencius,  pp.  17,  183. 


142  Confucianism  and  Women 

in  China,  with  the  consequent  degradation  of 
woman,  must  be  placed  upon  the  sage  and  his  fol- 
lowers. He  might  have  lifted  the  yoke  from  the 
neck  of  Chinese  womankind  but  he  forever  let 
slip  his  opportunity.  Mencius  says  that  a mother 
should  accompany  her  daughter,  about  to  be 
married,  to  the  door  with  this  last  injunction: 
“When  you  come  into  your  household,  be  re- 
spectful, be  circumspect,  do  not  oppose  your 
husband.  The  vocation  of  wives  and  concubines 
is  to  act  rightly  in  resignation.”  In  the  words  of 
Dr.  Faber:  “It  is  sad  to  find  so  very  few  pas- 
sages in  Chinese  literature  which  can  be  adduced 
in  condemnation  of  the  immorality  of  polygamy. 
I know  of  very  few  which  go  so  far  as  those  of 
Mencius,  and  they  leave  it  an  open  question.”1 
The  “Book  of  Odes”  which  Confucius  edited, 
contrasts  the  treatment  which  is  accorded  to 
children  in  the  home.  Boys  “will  be  put  to 
sleep  on  couches,”  girls  “will  sleep  on  the 
ground”;  sons  will  be  “clothed  in  robes”  and 
play  with  “sceptres,”  daughters  will  be  wrapped 
“in  wrappers,”  and  will  play  with  “tiles.” 
This  Chinese  book  of  Psalms  reasons  that: 

“ A clever  man  builds  a city, 

A clever  woman  lays  one  low  ; 

With  all  her  qualifications,  that  clever  woman 
Is  but  an  ill-omened  bird. 

A woman  with  a long  tongue 

Is  a flight  of  steps  leading  to  calamity  ; 


1 The  Mind  of  Mencius,  pp.  17,  183. 


Virtue  From  Learning  143 

For  disorder  does  not  come  from  Heaven, 

But  is  brought  about  by  women. 

Among  those  who  cannot  be  trained  or  taught 
Are  women  and  eunuchs.”  1 


The  supposed  moral  power  inherent  in  liter- 
ature and  education  has  provided  a text  for  many 
a sermon  by  rulers  and  by  literateurs.  The  Em- 
peror Yung  Cheng  (1723)  addressing  the  Han 
Lin  Academy  reminded  the  members  that,  “ Lit- 
erature is  your  business,  but  we  want  such  liter- 
ature as  will  serve  to  regulate  the  age,  and  reflect 
the  glory  of  the  nation.  As  for  sonnets  to  the 
moon  and  the  clouds,  the  winds  and  the  dews, 
of  what  use  are  they  ?”  The  renowned  Emperor 
K'ang  Hsi  advised  the  people  “educate  your  sons 
and  younger  brothers  in  order  to  hinder  them  from 
doing  what  is  wrong.”  The  fallacy  of  all  non- 
Christian  philosophy  is  the  assumption  that  in- 
tellectual education  will  of  itself  produce  morality. 


Chinese  Literature. 


XVII 


THE  CONFUCIAN  CURRICULUM 

THERE  are  not  more  than  thirteen  works 
in  the  sacred  library  of  the  Chinese 
scholar.  The  thousands  of  other  books 
which  he  possesses  are  not  of  this  revered  circle. 
It  is  somewhat  like  the  library  of  the  theologian, 
whose  Scriptures  consist  of  sixty-six  books,  but 
whose  library  may  have  scores  of  commentaries, 
histories,  sciences  and  general  treatises. 

In  the  Chinese  canon  there  are  two  main  divi- 
sions, as  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  commonly 
known  as  the  “Five  Classics”  and  the  “Four 
Books,”  which  in  ordinary  parlance  are  spoken 
of  as  the  “Chinese  Classics.”  We  shall  reverse 
the  chronological  grouping  to  study  them  in  the 
order  of  their  importance  as  subjects  in  the  ex- 
aminations. 

The  Great  Learning,  or  Ta  Hsio,  has  already 
been  quoted,  as  far  as  it  is  supposed  to  have  come 
directly  from  Confucius.  It  once  formed  a sec- 
tion of  the  Li  Chi,  and  it  has  been  profusely 
commented  upon  and  extolled  to  the  skies  by 
Chinese  scholars.  Pauthier  in  the  “ Argument 
Philosophique,”  calls  it,  “a  system  of  social  per- 
fectionating.” 1 It  is  agreed  by  several  foreign 

1 Quoted  in  Life  and  Times  of  Confucius,  p.  33. 

144 


The  Analects  145 

critics  that  K'ung  Chi,  Confucius’  grandson,  was 
the  chief  compiler. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  or  Chung  Yung, 
was  compiled  by  K‘ung  Chi,  who  goes  also  by  the 
name  of  Tzu  Szu.  It  discourses  on  the  motives 
and  actions  of  an  ideal,  perfect  man  who  avoids 
all  extremes.  When  all  the  passions  and  affec- 
tions are  held  in  perfect  equilibrium  the  heart  is 
said  to  be  correct.1 

The  Analects,  or  Lun  Yu,  are  the  collected  say- 
ings of  Confucius,  compiled  by  the  disciples  of 
Confucius’  first  band  of  apostles.  They  are  a 
collection  of  sententious  dialogues  or  monologues 
typical  of  the  Chinese  wisdom  literature. 

The  master  said:  “Is  he  not  a man  of  com- 
plete virtue  who  feels  no  discomposure  though 
men  may  take  no  note  of  him  ? ” 2 

The  master  said:  “ If  the  scholar  be  not  grave 
he  will  not  call  forth  any  veneration,  and  his 
learning  will  not  be  solid.  Hold  faithfulness  and 
sincerity  as  first  principles.  Have  no  friends  not 
equal  to  yourself.  When  you  have  faults  do  not 
fear  to  abandon  them.”3 

The  master  said:  “At  fifteen  I had  my  mind 
bent  on  learning.  At  thirty  I stood  firm.  At 
forty  I had  no  doubts.  At  fifty  I knew  the  de- 
crees of  heaven.  At  sixty  my  ear  was  an  obe- 
dient organ  for  the  reception  of  truth.  At  seventy 
I could  follow  what  my  heart  desired  without 
transgressing  what  was  right.”4 

1 Chinese  Researches,  p.  213.  2 Analects  I,  1. 

3 Analects  I,  8.  4 Analects  II,  4. 


146  The  Analects — Mencius 

The  master  said:  “The  accomplished  scholar 
is  not  an  utensil.”1 

The  master  said:  “The  study  of  strange  doc- 
trines is  injurious  indeed.”2 

The  master  said:  “ While  his  parents  are  alive, 
the  son  may  not  go  abroad  to  a distance.  If  he 
does  go  abroad  he  must  have  a fixed  place  to 
which  he  goes.” 3 

The  master  said:  “The  prosecution  of  learn- 
ing may  be  compared  to  what  may  happen  in 
raising  a mound.  . . . Though  but  one  bas- 

ketful is  thrown  at  a time,  the  advancing  with  it 
is  my  own  going  forward.”4 

The  master  said:  “There  are  three  things  of 
which  the  superior  man  stands  in  awe.  He 
stands  in  awe  of  the  ordinances  of  heaven.  He 
stands  in  awe  of  great  men  (nobility).  He  stands 
in  awe  of  the  words  of  the  sages.”5 

Mencius’  own  name  is  attached  to.  the  last  of 
the  “four  books,”  which  is  larger  than  the  Great 
Learning,  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  and  the 
Analects  combined.  He  lived  during  the  fourth 
century  b.  c.  (372-289),  enjoyed  the  society  of 
the  princes  and  nobility  of  his  day,  and  has  left  a 
work  about  which  Dr.  Faber  remarks:  “We 

can  indeed  say  in  all  truth  that  Mencius  is  now 
the  darling  of  the  Chinese.  Out  of  the  whole 
range  of  their  literature  there  is  no  other  work 
which  is  such  a living  reality  as  Mencius.” 

•Analects  II,  12.  5 Analects  II,  16. 

3 Analects  IV,  19.  4 Analects  IX,  18. 

6 Analects  XVI,  8. 


Mencius — The  I Ching  147 

The  two  centuries  between  Confucius  who 
lived  551-478  b.  c.  and  Mencius  did  not  interfere 
materially  with  the  latter’s  becoming  the  great 
apologist  of  the  Sage.  In  fact,  this  interval 
helped  the  fame  of  Mencius  for  he,  single- 
handed,  attacked  with  the  tried  weapons  of  his 
master  the  teachers  of  socialism  who  had  come 
into  the  arena  of  thought  to  dispute  the  master’s 
preeminence.  Mencius,  like  Confucius,  was  the 
staunch  ally  of  absolutism  in  government,  and 
their  teaching  combined  is  the  Magna  Charta  of 
the  Chinese  official,  from  Emperor  to  mandarin; 
while  the  common  people  believe  that  Confucian 
absolutism  is  “the  will  of  heaven.”  Plato  and 
Mencius  were  contemporaries;  which  has  influ- 
enced more  minds  f 

The  I Ching,  or  Book  of  Changes,  dates  from 
1150B.  c.  It  is  accredited  to  Wen  Wang,  and 
has  been  an  enigma  for  each  successive  genera- 
tion. Confucius  took  it  in  hand  and  spent  much 
time  in  trying  to  make  it  intelligible,  with  only  a 
moderate  degree  of  success.  The  1 is  the  Chinese 
book  of  Genesis,  and  more.  It  attempts  to  pre- 
sent the  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  universe,  and 
to  explain  the  law  of  its  forces.  The  royal 
writer  Wen  Wang  is  said  to  have  been  a con- 
temporary of  Pythagoras,  and  the  similarity  in 
the  methods  and  results  of  the  two  widely  sepa- 
rated founders  of  Physics  have  been  pointed  out. 
The  working  unit  of  the  I is  a set  of  eight  tri- 
grams which  are  used  in  sixty-four  combina- 
tions, and  are  supposed  to  unlock  the  origin  and 


148  Weakness  of  Confucius 

destiny  of  cosmos.  All  matter  is  stated  to  “ have 
proceeded  from  two  great  male  and  female  vivi- 
fying elements,  the  Yin  and  the  Yang,  which  in 
turn  owe  their  existence  to  the  T‘ai  Chi,  or  the 
first  great  cause.”  This  duality  pervades  all 
Chinese  ideas  of  earth,  stars,  worship,  medicine, 
and  various  forms  of  life.  In  regard  to  the  I, 
Confucius  says  in  the  Analects,  “ If  some  years 
were  added  to  my  life,  1 would  give  fifty  to  the 
study  of  the  1,  and  then  1 might  come  to  be 
without  faults.”  The  weakest  point  in  Con- 
fucius’ character  is  his  extravagant  admiration 
for  the  1 Ching,  which  is  little  more  than  a lot  of 
enigmatical  nonsense  intended  for  the  prognosti- 
cation of  good  and  bad  fortune.  The  book  has 
ever  been  the  treasury  from  which  sorcerers, 
fortune-tellers,  mystics  and  charlatans  of  every 
kind  have  drawn  their  supplies. 

The  Shu  Ching,  or  Book  of  History,  originally 
consisted  of  one  hundred  books,  but  only  fifty- 
nine  of  these  have  been  preserved.  This  record 
goes  back  to  2,300  years  before  Christ  and  con- 
sists largely  of  dialogues  between,  and  about,  the 
kings  and  ministers  of  the  various  dynasties,  and 
is  the  record  of  the  doings  and  sayings  of  men 
who  are  much  the  same  to-day  as  when  the 
record  was  begun.  Confucius  wrote,  at  least, 
the  table  of  contents,  and  it  bears  the  mark  of 
his  approval,  but  the  exact  extent  of  his  work 
upon  it  is  still  a matter  on  which  sinologues 
differ. 

The  Shih  Ching,  or  Book  of  Odes,  presents 


Books  of  Odes  and  Rights  149 

another  ground  for  the  disagreement  of  authori- 
ties. It  seems  true,  however,  that  Confucius  at 
least  edited  this  collection  of  300  and  more  po- 
ems, from  a promiscuous  lot  of  over  3,000,  the 
rest  of  which  did  not  meet  with  his  editorial  ap- 
proval. They  are  songs  of  peace  and  among 
them  one  finds  few  “ Barrack-room  Ballads.” 
The  standing  which  is  accorded  the  Shih  in 
China  is  shown  in  Confucius’  remark  that  a man 
unacquainted  with  the  Chih  Ching  was  un- 
worthy of  being  conversed  with.  In  the  second 
book  of  the  Analects,  Confucius  says  of  the  Shih : 
“ In  the  Book  of  Odes  are  300  pieces,  but  the  de- 
sign of  them  all  may  be  embraced  in  that  one 
sentence, — ‘ Have  no  depraved  thoughts.’  ” 

The  Li  Chi,  or  Book  of  Rites,  dating  from  the 
time  of  the  Chou  emperors  is  a bulky  collection  of 
rules  for  personal  conduct  in  private  and  public. 
Although  it  serves  some  such  purpose  as  an  offi- 
cial book  on  “ Manners  or  social  usages”  would 
cover  in  the  West,  yet  its  importance  has  been 
magnified  by  a nation  which  disbelieves  in 
“rough  and  ready ” deportment,  until  it  has  be- 
come the  law  of  life.  Every  movement  of  of- 
ficial or  social  intercourse  is  ordered  by  the  Book 
of  Rites.  One  of  the  great  departments  of  the 
Imperial  government,  the  Board  of  Rites,  con- 
cerns itself  largely  in  interpreting  and  enforcing 
the  Li  Chi. 

The  Ch'un  Ch‘iu,  or  Spring  and  Autumn  An- 
nals, is  from  the  hand  of  Confucius.  It  is  an 
historical  chronicle  of  the  events  of  240  years 


150  Theism  Not  Taught 

(722  to  484  b.  c.),  and  about  it  the  critics  state 
that  no  historian  has  been  more  biased,  unjust  to 
the  facts,  and  willfully  misleading,  than  the  cele- 
brated author  of  the  Ch’un  Ch'iu. 

The  Chinese  student,  therefore,  saturates  his 
mind  with  the  works  which  have  come  down 
through  the  hands  of  Confucius,  and  which  with 
some  show  of  justice  we  may  characterize  as 
sociology,  moral  philosophy,  political  and  other 
maxims,  apologetics,  cosmogony,  history  and 
historical  romancing,  poetry,  and,  as  important 
in  his  mind  as  any,  manners.  Though  the  curric- 
ulum is  largely  religious  in  its  control,  yet  it 
provides  practically  no  teaching  of  Theism. 
Though  it  is  the  permanent  support  of  absol- 
utism, yet  it  guarantees  large  liberties  to  the 
populace. 

We  have  completed  an  outline  of  the  nine 
Chinese  classics,  which  figure  largely  in  the  Ex- 
aminations, but  we  have  by  no  means  presented 
a complete  list  of  the  literature  of  China.  The 
Chinese  student  must  be  well  guarded  in  his  in- 
terpretation; not  only  must  he  be  orthodox,  but 
he  must  be  accurate.  On  the  I Ching  there  are 
500  different  commentaries;  on  the  Shu,  150; 
on  the  Shih  Ching,  150;  on  the  Li,  seventy;  on 
the  Ch‘un  Ch'iu,  250.  But  with  the  Four  Books, 
which  are  really  the  central  part  of  the  Confucian 
curriculum,  the  student  has  an  easier  task,  as 
there  are  but  170  commentaries,  and,  moreover, 
the  brief  and  easy  one  prepared  by  Chu  Hsi  is 
the  official  standard. 


Primary  Studies  lyi 

Although  elementary  studies  are  optional,  as 
are  the  examinations  for  advanced  students,  yet 
custom  has  firmly  fixed  the  course  of  study. 
The  lad  begins  his  literary  career  with  the  Three 
Character  Classic,  or  primer,  which  gives  sketches 
of  eminent  scholars,  the  dynastic  succession,  his- 
torical musings,  and  quaint  philosophy  on  man 
and  his  relations.  The  Three  Character  Classic  is 
followed  by  a-dry-as-dust  Enumeration  of  Sur- 
names, which  has  to  be  memorized  and  which 
unlocks  the  more  than  400  family  titles  used  by 
the  Chinese. 

An  ancient  reading  book,  called  the  Thousand 
Character  Classic,  is  then  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  youth  and  he  nourishes  his  mind  on  its 
antique  and  obscure  philosophizing,  and  masters 
its  1,000  characters.  The  Odes  for  Children  are  a 
refreshing  relief,  for  the  Canons  of  Filial  Piety 
and  the  Juvenile  Instructor  soon  follow  and  the 
youth  becomes  saturated  with  unexplained,  and 
therefore  meaningless,  learning. 

Of  all  the  ancient  lore  which  Chinese  Children 
puzzle  over,  the  Sacred  Edict,  or  Sheng  Yu,  by 
the  Emperor  K'ang  Hsi  is  the  most  revered.1 

1 Digest  of  the  Sheng  Yu  or  Sacred  Edict. 

1.  Pay  just  regard  to  filial  and  fraternal  duties  in  order  to 
give  due  importance  to  the  relations  of  life. 

2.  Respect  kindred  in  order  to  display  the  excellence  of 
harmony. 

3.  Let  concord  abound  among  those  who  dwell  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  in  order  to  prevent  litigations. 

4.  Give  the  chief  place  to  husbandry  and  the  culture  of  the 
mulberry-tree,  in  order  to  procure  adequate  supplies  of  food 
and  raiment. 


152 


What  Does  He  Know  ? 


Dreary  indeed  is  the  school  life  of  the  Chinese 
lad,  forced  by  custom  to  memorize  ancient  tomes, 
and  unenlivened  by  those  amenities  which  char- 
acterize study  and  teaching  in  Western  schools. 

After  two  or  three  years  of  memorization  the 
pupil’s  work  is  somewhat  relieved  by  elaborate 
explanations  and  illustrations  from  his  teacher. 

The  average  literatus  among  the  million,  does 
not  live  near  an  Open  Port.  He  may  have  seen, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  is  acquainted  with,  a 
single  foreigner.  Of  what  does  his  knowledge 
consist?  What  does  he  know?  What  is  the 
bent  of  his  mind?  Chief  among  his  mental  ac- 
quisitions must  be  mentioned  the  following: 

5.  Hold  economy  in  estimation  in  order  to  prevent  lavish 
waste  of  money. 

6.  Magnify  academical  learning,  in  order  to  direct  the 
scholar’s  progress. 

7.  Degrade  strange  religions,  in  order  to  exalt  the  orthodox 
doctrine. 

8.  Explain  the  laws  in  order  to  warn  the  ignorant  and 
obstinate. 

9.  Illustrate  the  principles  of  a polite  and  yielding  carriage, 
in  order  to  improve  manners. 

10.  Attend  to  the  essential  employments,  in  order  to  give 
unvarying  determination  to  the  will  of  the  people. 

1 1.  Instruct  the  youth,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  doing 
evil. 

12.  Suppress  all  false  accusing  in  order  to  secure  protection 
to  the  innocent. 

13.  Warn  those  who  hide  deserters,  that  they  may  not  be 
involved  in  their  downfall. 

14.  Complete  the  payment  of  taxes  in  order  to  prevent  fre- 
quent urging. 

15.  Unite  the  communities  in  order  to  extirpate  robbery 
and  theft. 

16.  Settle  animosities,  that  lives  may  be  duly  valued.* 


* Rev.  Dr.  Milne’s  translation. 


Range  ot  Knowledge  153 

1.  He  can  compose  elegant  Chinese  prose,  ac- 
cording to  the  fixed  laws  of  composition. 

2.  He  commands  from  memory  the  bulk  of 
the  thirteen  classics  which  means  that  his  conver- 
sation and  writing  are  punctuated  with  classical 
allusions. 

3.  It  is  probable  that  he  has  the  ability  to 
compose  epigrams,  and  epigrammatic  couplets 
and  quatrains. 

4.  He  is  saturated  with  the  family  law  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  five  relations — the  funda- 
mentals of  sociology. 

5.  He  believes  that  the  ruler  has  divine  right 
and  the  scholar  has  divine  opportunities. 

6.  He  doubts  not  that  China  is  the  Central 
Nation  of  the  world,  not  only  geographically  but 
intellectually. 

7.  Foreign  nations  are  to  him  barbarous,  and 
rightfully  should  seek  culture  from  Heaven’s 
Country.  Their  brutal  militarism  explains  their 
dominance. 

8.  He  knows  the  life-story  of  China’s  rulers, 
sages,  scholars,  statesmen  and  poets. 

9.  He  thinks  he  knows  the  principles  of 
Cosmos,  and  the  rules  for  unlocking  its  laws. 

10.  He  has  at  his  disposal  remarkable  but  rude 
astronomical  calculations. 

11.  He  has  been  taught  to  disdain  foreigners 
with  their  “strange  doctrines ” and  their  disre- 
gard for  “ propriety.” 

12.  He  is  well-bred  according  to  standards 
which  are  older  than  European  history,  and  he 


154  Limitations  of  Knowledge 

hesitates  to  recognize  as  a gentleman  a man  who 
does  not  conform.  If  your  manners  are  not  his, 
then  yours  are  not  good  manners. 

13.  The  Chinese  literatus  fastens  his  black  eyes 
upon  you,  reads  your  character,  sifts  your  mo- 
tives, and  thinks  he  makes  an  altogether  keener 
analysis  of  you,  than  you  do  of  him.  He  knows 
no  rules  of  psychology  but  without  them  may 
make  a better  psychological  diagnosis  than  you 
do. 

On  the  other  hand  we  may  note  down  a few 
of  the  things  which  the  typical  literatus  does  not 
know : 

1.  The  geography  of  the  world,  and  even  of 
China,  is  a terra  incognito  to  him. 

2.  He  has  heard  only  rumors,  unconfirmed, 
that  the  earth  is  round,  and  that  it  revolves  about 
the  sun. 

3.  His  knowledge  of  the  earth,  its  origin,  its 
geology,  etc.,  is  fanciful  untruth,  leading  him  to 
all  kinds  of  superstitions. 

4.  His  chemistry  is  alchemy. 

5.  A modern  “laboratory,”  a telescope,  a 
proposition  in  Euclid  or  even  in  fractions,  a pump 
or  an  engine,  he  has  probably  never  so  much  as 
heard  of. 

6.  He  has  no  thought  of  ever  “ speaking  in 
public”;  probably  he  has  never  seen  an  audience 
listening  to  a lecture. 

7.  The  spirit  of  chivalry  is  not  his,  he  does 
not  recognize  the  equality  of  woman,  but  he  may 
make  a good  house-lord. 


Mental  Dynamite  155 

8.  He  has  no  knowledge  of  Theism,  and  his 
mind  is  a blank  in  regard  to  all  high  religious 
questions,  except  such  as  are  connected  with 
Ancestor  Worship,  the  worship  of  Confucius, 
and  of  Idols. 

9.  He  does  not  know  that  he  is  provincial  and 
that  he  is  ignorant. 

10.  It  does  not  dawn  upon  him  that  he  loves 
to  believe  a lie,  that  he  is  bigoted,  pedantic,  and 
conceited. 

To  impress  the  mind  of  the  student  of  the  old 
school  calls  for  powerful  measures,  something  ap- 
proaching mental  dynamite.  Or  as  a missionary, 
with  brilliant  appreciation  of  the  paradoxes  in  get- 
ting at  an  educated  ignoramus,  remarked,  “saw  his 
legs  off”;  cut  away  his  props  and  bring  him  to  a 
sense  of  his  ignorance.  Elementary  science 
affords  effective  explosives  for  opening  his  mind. 
He  worships  the  god  of  lightning,  but  you  show 
that  this  deity  is  chained  to  your  carriage  wheels, 
to  your  house  lights,  to  your  street  lamps,  to 
your  talking  and  writing  machines;  that  his  god 
is  in  reality  the  electrical  servant  of  mankind,  and 
that  to  worship  him  is  senseless.  He  worships 
the  earth  dragon.  He  points  out  in  every  range 
of  hills  the  couchant  head,  vertebrae  and  tail  of 
this  demon-god,  who  if  his  back  is  pricked  will 
bring  untold  misfortune  on  the  neighboring  com- 
munities. You  take  him  to  this  same  centre  of 
earth-awe,  and  you  dig  out  the  coal,  the  silver, 
or  the  gold,  you  prove  China  to  be  the  greatest 
unworked  mine  in  the  world,  and  you  are  in  a 


156  Breaking  a Path  for  Truth 

position  to  explain  that  superstition  alone  has 
kept  this  wealth  hidden  for  centuries. 

Machinery  of  various  kinds,  apparatus  which 
really  illustrates,  scientific  collections,  experi- 
ments, lectures  with  the  stereopticon,  conversa- 
tions in  which  he  sees  for  himself  that  you  are 
neither  a demon  nor  a god,  but  a flesh  and  blood 
man  and  interesting  withal;  books  written  in  the 
language  of  culture,  historical,  biographical,  po- 
litical, religious;  these  are  measures  for  such 
men.  Your  effort  at  this  stage  is  neither  to  make 
a scientist  of  him  nor  a convert,  but  to  break  a 
path  into  his  mind  for  the  entrance  of  Truth. 

After  the  currents  of  higher  education  have 
begun  to  move  through  his  being  they  will  drive 
out  Taoism  and  Buddhism  with  their  attending 
demonology,  as  the  typhoons  expell  the  foetid, 
stifling,  deadening  heat  and  bring  in  the  glories 
of  an  Asian  autumn. 


XVIII 


THE  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  THE  EXAMINATION 
SYSTEM 

THE  Chinese  have  been  from  time  im- 
memorial the  masters  of  letters,  but  of 
practical  science  they  have  known  next 
to  nothing.  Modern  education  will  make  prac- 
tical to  the  Eastern  man  the  words  of  Browning: 
“A  man’s  reach  should  exceed  his  grasp,  or 
what’s  Heaven  for  ? ” There  are  many  ill-trained 
men  whose  little  handful  is  more  than  they  can 
carry  but  who  if  wisely  trained  would  have  a 
reaching  power  far  in  excess  of  their  present  at- 
tainment. This  applies  to  manual  as  well  as  to 
mental  laborers.  The  report  here  summarized 
of  the  United  States  Educational  Commission  is 
doubly  true  of  wage-earning  power  in  the  East. 
In  America  a man’s  earning  power,  it  is  estimated, 
is  increased  fifty  per  cent,  by  a common  school 
education,  one  hundred  per  cent,  by  a high 
school  training,  and  two  hundred  per  cent,  by  a 
college  course.  Although  Confucian  education 
imparts  a culture,  yet  it  is  a culture  deficient  in 
truth,  and  truth  is  the  soul  of  learning.  Judged 
by  Western  standards  the  scholar  of  the  East 
impersonates  cultured  ignorance.  It  may  be 
urged  that  modern  education  is  unsettling  the 
i57 


“The  Trodden  Paths” 


158 

Oriental  mind  and  that  it  will  create  havoc  among 
hoary  customs  and  methods  of  thought.  This 
must  be  true,  and  in  itself  forms  a desirable  ob- 
jective. Confucius,  the  chief  teacher  of  the  yel- 
low nations,  cautioned  his  disciples  to  “ walk  in 
the  trodden  paths.”  Since  his  day  precedent  has 
been  the  law  of  the  East,  for  his  people  have 
said:  “What  Confucius  teaches  is  true:  what 

is  contrary  to  his  teaching  is  false:  what  he  does 
not  teach  is  unnecessary.”  And  the  Emperor 
K'ang  Hsi  boldly  advised  the  nation  to  “discard 
strange  doctrines  in  order  to  glorify  the  orthodox 
teaching.”  But  it  does  not  behoove  us  to  glory 
unduly  over  the  Chinese,  for  how  long  has  it 
been  since  a “liberal  education  ” with  us  con- 
sisted primarily  of  Greek  and  Latin  poetry, 
history,  romance  and  tragedy,  and  “practical 
courses  ” of  study  were  taboo  ? 

At  length  applied  mathematics,  biology,  chem- 
istry, physics,  engineering  in  its  various  forms, 
scientific  medicine,  the  principles  of  international 
law,  psychology,  and  philosophy  have  begun  to 
appeal  by  their  own  worth  to  China  as  they  had 
already  done  to  us.  Many  years  ago  it  became 
evident  that  the  new  ideas  were  fomenting  in 
Chinese  minds.  Prince  Kung  of  the  Imperial 
family  addressed,  previous  to  the  Japanese  war, 
an  official  letter  to  the  Throne  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  part:  “The  machinery  of  the  West,  its 

steamers,  its  fire-arms  and  its  military  tactics, 
all  have  their  source  in  mathematical  science. 
Now  at  Shanghai  and  elsewhere  the  building  of 


159 


Prince  Kung’s  Memorial 

steamers  has  been  commenced;  but  we  fear  that, 
if  we  are  content  with  the  superficial  knowledge, 
and  do  not  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  such  ef- 
forts will  not  issue  in  solid  success. 

“Your  Majesty’s  servants  have  accordingly  to 
propose,  after  mature  deliberation,  that  an  addi- 
tional department  shall  be  established,  into  which 
no  one  shall  be  admitted  but  those  who  are  over 
twenty  years  of  age,  having  previously  gained  a 
degree  in  Chinese  learning.  For  we  are  convinced 
that,  if  we  are  able  to  master  the  mysteries  of 
mathematical  calculation,  physical  investigation, 
astronomical  observation,  the  construction  of 
engines,  the  engineering  of  water  courses,  this  and 
only  this  will  assure  the  steady  growth  of  the 
power  of  the  Empire." 

The  building  of  a few  government  colleges, 
the  extended  influence  of  the  Christian  colleges, 
the  outcome  of  the  China-Japan  war,  the  advo- 
cacy of  new  education  by  men  who  had  the  ear 
of  the  Emperor,  the  pressure  of  foreign  govern- 
ments, notably  German  and  Russian, — these 
were  the  chief  causes  of  the  change  of  policy 
succeeding  Prince  Kung’s  memorial  to  the 
Throne. 

The  radical  change  of  attitude  which  the  prom- 
inent men  of  China  have  manifested  towards 
western  education  is  surprising.  The  great 
Viceroy,  Chang  Chih-tung,  of  Wu  Ch'ang,  in 
1898  wrote  sentiments  which  would  certainly 
have  cost  him  his  head  a few  years  before.  He 
said,  in  regard  to  the  examination  system  and 


160  The  Emperor  a Reformer 

the  national  vice  of  opium-smoking:  “A  renais- 
sance of  learning  then  would  save  the  world 
(China)!  by  directing  attention  from  opium  to 
more  worthy  objects.  All  classes,  rich  and  poor, 
in  city  and  country,  would  have  something  de- 
sirable to  learn.  Even  those  physically  disquali- 
fied from  going  abroad,  could  read  the  current 
literature  of  the  day,  whilst  the  strong  could 
(also)  learn  from  travel.  The  literati  would  be- 
come thoroughly  conversant  with  the  affairs  of 
the  world,  and  the  lower  classes  would  become 
expert  in  their  various  trades.”1 

The  Emperor,  Kuang  Hsu,  in  1898,  headed  the 
greatest  revolution  which  has  ever  broken  out  in 
China.  It  was  and  is  a rebellion  against  hoary 
customs,  more  sacred  than  laws,  in  which  this 
“Son  of  Heaven”  turned  his  back  on  his  ances- 
tors and  their  beliefs.  In  order  that  the  real 
significance  of  this  educatio-political  revolution 
may  clearly  appear,  we  will  refer  to  the  Emper- 
or’s own  words. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  for  centuries,  the 
government  examination  system  had  prevailed  in 
China,  and  that  this  system  has  “ done  more  than 
anything  else  to  hold  China  together.”  This  be- 
ing said,  what  was  the  nation’s  surprise  in  1898 
to  find  the  old  essay  system  abolished  by  a short 
Imperial  edict.  In  beginning  the  reconstructive 
work,  the  Emperor  said:  “We  agree  with  the 
said  sub-Chancellor  (who  had  memorialized  the 
Throne);  and  also  that  a simple  knowledge  of 

1 China’s  Only  Hope. 


Reform  Edicts  161 

the  Classics  is  not  enough  to  fit  men  nowadays 
for  important  posts  in  the  Imperial  Government. 
What  is  most  important  now  is  for  men  to  have 
knowledge  of  the  world,  and  of  things  going  on 
outside  of  China.  Such  men  are  required  for  the 
Government,  and  every  opportunity  should  be 
given  such  to  bring  to  light  their  experience  and 
knowledge.” 

The  Emperor  followed  this  with  an  edict  in 
regard  to  a government  university  of  foreign  lit- 
erature and  science  in  Peking,  and  said  emphat- 
ically:— “We  therefore  now  command  that  the 
plans  and  regulations  for  the  proposed  university 
be  forthwith  arranged  without  further  delay,” 
etc.  At  Tientsin  and  Shanghai,  there  had  been 
previously  established  government  colleges,  and 
at  the  opening  of  the  Shanghai  institution,  700 
students  presented  themselves,  of  whom  only  140 
could  be  admitted.  Yet  no  such  remarkable  lan- 
guage had  previously  proceeded  from  the  Throne. 
As  will  be  seen,  the  Emperor  had  but  begun, 
for  in  a succeeding  edict  he  said: 

“In  addition  to  the  establishment  of  the  Im- 
perial University  at  Peking,  those  established  in 
the  provinces  are  to  be  divided  into  three  classes, 
namely:  those  established  in  each  of  the  provin- 
cial capitals  are  to  be  of  the  first-class;  the  sec- 
ond-class are  to  be  those  established  in  the  vari- 
ous prefectural  cities;  and  those  in  departmental 
and  district  cities  are  to  be  of  the  third-class. 
Two  months  are  to  be  given  to  the  various 
Viceroys  and  Governors  to  report  to  the  Throne 


162  Temples  Turned  Into  Colleges 

the  number  of  colleges  and  free  schools  within 
their  jurisdiction,  where  situated,  what  their 
present  incomes  are,  etc.,  as,  without  any  excep- 
tion, they  are  all  to  have  their  former  constitu- 
tions and  charters  changed,  in  order  to  give  place 
to  the  new  order  of  things — combination  of 
Chinese  practical  literature  and  Western  studies.” 
The  Emperor  did  not  forget  that  colleges  must 
be  financed.  From  the  earnings  of  the  China 
Merchants’  Steam  Navigation  Company,  the  Im- 
perial Telegraph  Administration,  the  Weising 
Lottery,  and  the  gifts  of  wealthy  men  the  neces- 
sary funds  for  education  were  to  be  derived.  He 
promised  to  reward  “ beyond  the  usual  routine 
scale ’’all  philanthropists  who  personally  estab- 
lish and  endow  colleges.  And,  furthermore,  in 
order  to  facilitate  such  an  elaborate  programme, 
he  concluded  by  saying  that  “all  memorial  or 
other  temples  built  by  the  people,  except  those 
wherein  sacrifices  are  required  by  edict,  are  to  be 
turned  into  schools  and  colleges  for  the  teaching 
and  propagation  of  the  new  learning.  To  all 
who  study  in  these  new  institutions  of  learning 
and  graduate  therefrom  is  extended  the  promise 
of  being  accepted  in  the  government  services  in 
the  usual  way.” 

The  Emperor  desired  to  make  the  new  learn- 
ing practical  from  the  start.  He  issued  two 
edicts,  “ commending  copyright  and  patent 
privileges  to  our  subjects,”  coupled  with  a prom- 
ise to  substantially  reward,  in  a special  manner, 
the  most  brilliant  and  talented  authors  of  books 


Rewards  for  Originality  163 

and  inventors  of  machinery  and  works  of  utility, 
as  well  as  such  as  had  conspicuously  distin- 
guished themselves  in  the  establishment  of 
schools  and  colleges  in  the  Empire.”  The  edict 
states  the  various  rewards  and  accruing  rights, 
and  proceeds: — “We,  therefore,  hereby  grant 
our  consent  to  the  same  being  immediately  put 
into  operation  and  notified  to  the  various  high 
provincial  authorities  for  public  information  by 
means  of  proclamations,”  etc.  “Great  care, 
however,  should  be  taken  that  only  the  really  de- 
serving be  rewarded,  thereby  encouraging  true 
genius  and  merit.” 

In  the  first  of  these  edicts  on  inventions,  the 
Emperor  noted  that  “we  do  not  lack  either  men 
of  intellect  or  brilliant  talents,  capable  of  learning 
and  doing  anything  they  please,  but  their  move- 
ments have  hitherto  been  hampered  by  old  preju- 
dices.” He  had  an  extensive  plan  in  mind,  for 
he  not  only  refers  to  literary,  educational,  and 
inventive  matters,  but  also  to  “ irrigation  works 
for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,”  and  “rifle  factor- 
ies or  cannon  foundries.” 

The  Emperor  was  in  earnest,  but  there  were 
great  difficulties  in  his  way.  Before  he  entered 
on  reform,  his  favorite  minister,  WengT'ung  Ho, 
was  cashiered  of  his  office  and  forced  into  retire- 
ment. There  were  greater  obstacles  to  be  over- 
come. How  could  the  debauched  political  con- 
science be  trusted  to  carry  out  such  reforms, 
when  most  of  the  agents  of  the  new  ideas  were 
themselves  identical  with  the  agents  of  the  sys- 


164  The  Emperor  Dethroned 

tem  of  official  plundering  which  permeates  the 
country?  Can  the  blind  lead  the  blind  ? Further- 
more, although  China  is  an  absolute  monarchy, 
yet  if  the  Emperor  deviates  from  the  customs  of 
his  ancestors  did  not  Mencius  teach  that  the 
people  should  rebel?  Cannot  a censor  publicly 
denounce  even  his  sacred  majesty  ? 

But  more  unfortunate  than  these  possibilities 
were  the  actual  facts.  The  Emperor,  Kuang 
Hsu,  was  dethroned  September  22d,  1898,  by 
the  combined  action  of  the  royal  family,  who 
were  united  against  him.  Who  were  the  chief 
mourners  in  China?  Strange  to  say,  the  literati. 
In  Northern,  Central  and  Southern  China  the 
literati  were  anxious  that  modern  education 
should  supplant  the  older  cult.  Reliable  evidence 
has  come  from  the  distant  inland  provinces  of 
Honan,  Hunan,  Shansi  and  Szechuan,  which  con- 
firm the  testimony  from  the  literary  centres 
nearer  to  the  port  cities.  When  the  Manchu 
clan  leaders  crushed  the  reform  plans  the  literati 
throughout  China  seemed  greatly  disappointed. 
They  are  the  real  leaders  of  the  Empire;  and  not 
many  years  ago  they  were  solidly  opposed  to 
Western  education.  Men  said  it  would  take 
centuries  to  move  them.  But  the  fact  is  that  the 
nation  left  its  old  moorings  in  1898  and  was 
ready  to  put  to  sea.  Driven  back  to  port  by  an 
official  storm,  it  simply  waits  a more  propitious 
time.  This  was  a remarkable  revelation  to  most 
onlooking  foreigners,  and  points  to  striking 
changes  in  the  future. 


Reforms  Demanded  165 

In  the  early  part  of  1900,  the  Chinese  editor  of 
a Canton  vernacular  newspaper  boldly  returned 
to  the  attack.  His  Emperor  was  dethroned  and 
imprisoned,  reformers  were  being  hunted  for 
their  lives,  the  property  and  homes  of  his  friends 
were  being  confiscated  before  his  eyes,  and  yet 
he  wrote:  “These  are  they  [speaking  of  the 
strong  nations]  whose  minds  have  been  en- 
larged by  daily  advances  in  all  kinds  of  learn- 
ing, and  consequent  accumulation  of  practical 
wisdom.  ...  An  Empire’s  future  is  de- 
termined by  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  the 
masses,  which  of  course  depends  on  the  kind  of 
education  they  receive.  . . . Peking  scholars 

in  ordinary  times  by  virtue  of  their  usual  studies 
have  become  stereotyped.  They  are  narrow- 
minded. They  have  devoted  their  energies  to 
worse  than  useless  subjects.  They  have  now 
come  into  perfect  sympathy  with  their  mental 
atrophy.  . . . Having  stated  clearly  the  fact 

that  China  is  stricken  with  mental  paralysis,  we 
now  refer  to  the  causes  which  have  led  to  this 
disastrous  state  of  affairs.”  The  editor  goes  on 
to  state  with  remarkable  clearness  the  reasons 
for  the  collapse  of  China,  and  although  each 
point  made  is  worth  quoting,  we  must  content 
ourselves  with  two  or  three.  “1.  There  are 
many  forms  of  sorcery,  demonology,  fortune- 
telling, feng-shui,  and  all  their  superstitions, 
which  have  barred  the  path  of  progress  and  the 
acquisition  of  true  knowledge.  2.  There  are  the 
government  examinations,  the  present  scale  of 


166  Empress  Dowager  a Reformer 

official  emoluments,  the  whole  system  of  official 
etiquette,  the  bribery  which  has  permeated  every 
fibre  of  official  life;  also  the  biographies,  novels 
and  traditions,  all  of  which  constantly  uphold 
and  belaud  the  present  system  of  officialism; 
moreover,  the  five  degrees  of  feudal  and  the  nine 
stages  of  official  rank,  outside  of  which  no  one 
can  hope  to  gain  either  honor  or  success.  These 
are  an  incubus  on  all  national  life  and  develop- 
ment.” 

Such  statements  were  claps  of  thunder,  and 
they  were  repeated  day  by  day,  from  so  many 
parts  of  the  Empire,  that  one  believed  a cleansing 
storm  would  soon  pass  over  the  land.  And  the 
storm  came,  drenching  part  of  the  country  in 
blood. 

The  Empire  was  distinctly  surprised  when 
from  her  retreat  at  Hsi  An  Fu  in  August,  1901, 
the  Empress  Dowager  began  the  promulgation  of 
royal  reforms  of  education  identical  in  spirit  with 
those  for  which  the  Clan  Court  had  deposed  the 
Emperor  in  1898.  She  decreed  that  in  “exam- 
ining candidates  for  office  in  the  future,"  the  old 
Wen  Chang  style  of  composition  be  abolished, 
and  that  “short  essays  or  articles  on  modern 
matters  and  Western  laws,  constitutions  and  po- 
litical economy”  be  substituted.  She  laughed  at 
the  bow-and-arrow  competitions  for  military 
preferment  saying  that  they  were  “not  of  the 
slightest  use  in  turning  out  men  for  the  army,” 
and  forthwith  prescribed  the  study  of  “ strategy 
and  military  science  ” in  “modern  military  acad- 


Official  Incompetence  167 

emies.”  By  a stroke  of  the  pen  she  thought  to 
turn  the  mind  of  the  nation  from  its  old  to  a new 
course.  How  were  a million  men  yearly  to  ac- 
quaint themselves  with  “modern  matters”? 
Were  not  most  of  the  chancellors  as  ignorant  as 
the  students  they  were  set  to  examine  as  to  the 
‘Saws,  constitutions  and  political  economy”  of 
Western  lands  ? The  very  vastness  of  the  prob- 
lem, were  there  a willing  mind,  would  require 
years  of  intelligent,  patient  effort  for  its  solu- 
tion. 

An  example  in  point  was  furnished  in  Shantung 
at  the  first  examinations  after  the  reform  decrees 
of  1901.  The  Literary  Chancellor  of  the  province 
was  a man  of  talent,  we  presume,  but  not  a man 
of  knowledge.  He  prepared  a list  of  books  on 
foreign  subjects  by  which  the  prospective  Hsui 
Tsais  were  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  exam- 
ination on  such  “ modern  matters  ” as  “ political 
economy,  commercial  intercourse,  military  train- 
ing, common  law,  international  law,  astronomy, 
geography,  physics,  mathematics,  manufactures, 
sound,  light,  chemistry,  and  electricity.”  A mis- 
sionary writing  from  the  Province  says,  “ The 
foreign  list,  while  containing  one  good  arithmetic, 
chiefly  consists  of  books  out  of  date,  several  lists 
of  scientific  terms,  a scientific  magazine  defunct 
some  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  the  whole  being 
thrown  together  without  regard  to  order.  . . . 
The  issuing  of  such  a list  strongly  indicates  a 
willful  misleading  of  the  students  entrusted  for 
three  years  to  this  man’s  care,  for  he  could  have 


1 68  New  Rules  by  Board  of  Rights 

had — in  fact  it  is  certain  that  a list  of  text-books, 
now  in  common  use  in  the  foreign-conducted 
schools  of  China,  was  presented  to  him,  but  no 
use  was  made  of  it.”  1 

The  Board  of  Rites  has  issued  complete  rules 
for  the  reformed  examinations.  Slavery  to  the 
old,  cramped,  arbitrary  style  of  composition  was 
abolished,  and  the  competing  students  were  ad- 
vised to  “express  themselves  fully  and  clearly, 
and  not  by  copying  the  old  commentaries;  nor 
should  they  lay  undue  stress  on  the  style  of  com- 
posing, nor  use  characters  which  are  not  in  vogue 
at  the  present  time.  The  copying  of  passages 
from  the  Buddhist  and  Taoist  books  and  from 
newspapers,  as  well  as  the  use  of  foreign  lan- 
guages is  strictly  prohibited.” 

The  new  rules  abolished  the  custom  of  having 
all  essays  copied  by  the  official  scribes  after  they 
are  handed  up  and  before  they  are  read  by  the  Ex- 
aminer, “ but  if  partiality  be  shown  by  Examiners 
to  persons  whose  handwriting  they  recognize, 
when  found  out,  both  parties  will  suffer  and  the 
examination  papers  shall  be  considered  void.” 
The  Board  of  Rites  know  that  the  old  Adam 
nature  has  not  yet  been  subdued,  and  “to  pre- 
vent students  from  getting  help  from  other 
persons  each  student  after  he  has  given  his 
papers  to  the  Examiner  must  write  out  from 
memory  the  first  four  columns  of  his  own  essays, 
or  answer  questions  on  a separate  sheet  of  paper.” 


1 North  China  Daily  News,  Feb.  26,  1902. 


Printing  Presses  Overwhelmed  169 

“ A description  of  the  form  and  age  of  the  person 
examined  will  still  be  required,  and  the  seal  on 
the  first  page  of  the  essays  will  be  stamped  as 
before.”  Such  essays  as  meet  with  approval 
shall  be  reread  particularly  to  ascertain  if  “there 
is  anything  in  them  which  is  unsuitable  to  the 
subject,”  or  whether  there  have  been  inducted 
into  them  quotations  from  the  “ancients,  copied 
by  persons  under  examination  ” without  due  credit 
being  given. 

The  Board  referred  the  Examiners  to  the 
printing-presses  in  Central  and  Southern  China 
for  supplies,  “as  many  books  have  been  recently 
burned  in  the  headquarters  of  the  Board  of  Rites, 
and  as  material  changes  have  been  made  in  the 
examination  system.”  Even  had  not  the  ancient 
lore  stored  in  Peking  been  destroyed  during  the 
Boxer  uprising,  the  Board  would  have  been  com- 
pelled to  turn  for  its  supplies,  to  printing  estab- 
lishments conducted  by  missionaries  or  by  Chinese 
who  have  imitated  foreign  methods.  The  print- 
ing establishments  in  Shanghai  are  overwhelmed 
with  orders  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  from 
all  grades  of  literary  aspirants  and  officials,  and 
for  all  kinds  of  treatises. 

The  proclamations  from  the  Throne  and  by  the 
Board  were  all  that  could  be  desired  as  procla- 
mations, but  they  must  have  little  effect  in  build- 
ing up  a new  and  practical  system  without  men. 
Men  of  modern  education,  who  will  necessarily 
be  young  men,  probably  without  the  highest 
“classical  ” attainments,  must  be  appointed  over 


170  A Struggle  With  Conservatism 

the  heads  of  the  elderly  Chin  Shihs  to  the  Literary 
Chancellorships  of  the  Empire.  Here  comes  a 
struggle,  an  intense  and  prolonged  struggle 
against  conservatism  and  custom. 


MINISTER  CONGER.  PRES.  SHEFFIELD  AND  CHINESE 
OFFICIALS  IN  COLLEGE  GROUNDS. 


CONCODRSE  OF  PEOPLE  ATTENDING  THE  DEDICATION  OF 
THE  COLLEGE. 

NORTH  CHINA  COLLEGE,  REBUILT. 


XIX 

THE  RISE  OF  MODERN  COLLEGES  IN  CHINA 

CHINA  has  a coast  line  of  about  2,500 
miles,  washed  by  a great  ocean,  over 
which  the  people  look  towards  the  rising 
sun.  America  has  an  eastern  coast  line,  washed 
by  another  great  ocean,  and  its  people  face 
towards  the  morning.  The  Christian  strategist 
in  the  colonial  time  in  America  was  a university- 
bred  man,  and  on  reaching  the  new  continent  he 
planned  for  higher  education.  There  have  landed 
during  the  past  hundred  years  many  university 
men  and  women  upon  the  eastern  coast  of  China, 
and  Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  Litt.  D.,  himself  an 
Englishman,  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
nearly  all  the  modern  colleges  in  China  have  been 
started  and  are  manned  by  Americans.  These 
men  are  giving  to  China  ideas  and  principles 
which  will  largely  shape  her  future  development. 

We  may  recall  the  early  influence  on  the 
American  Republic  of  Columbia  University,  and 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  established  by 
Episcopalians;  of  Princeton  established  by  the 
Presbyterians;  of  Harvard,  Yale,  Williams,  Dart- 
mouth and  Amherst,  established  by  the  Con- 
gregationalists;  of  Brown  University,  by  the 
Baptists  and  of  the  other  Colonial  and  post- 

171 


172 


America  and  China 


Colonial  seats  of  advanced  Christian  education. 
In  the  Colonial  period  of  American  history  Chris- 
tianity and  scholarship  were  in  apposition,  not 
opposition,  to  each  other  as  is  witnessed  by  the 
history  of  the  universities  in  that  seaboard  chain, 
from  the  University  of  Georgia  in  the  South  to 
the  University  of  Vermont  in  the  North. 

There  has  been  established  along  the  eastern 
seaboard  of  China,  a chain  of  Christian  literary 
and  scientific  institutions,  from  the  Christian 
College  in  Canton,  to  North  China  College  at 
T'ung  Chou,  the  buildings  of  which  were  razed 
to  the  ground  in  1900  by  ignorance  and  super- 
stition gone  mad.  No  one  can  estimate  how 
largely  China  will  be  influenced  by  such  institu- 
tions, including  the  College  at  Teng  Chou  (Pres- 
byterian), the  Methodist  Universities  at  Nanking 
and  Peking,  St.  John’s  College  (Episcopalian)  and 
the  T'ung  Wu  College  in  Soochow  (Southern 
Methodist),  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  in  Foo- 
chow (Methodist),  and  by  the  other  foundations 
in  Foochow,  Amoy,  Wu  Ch'ang  and  other  cities. 
We  do  not  refer  to  theological  seminaries,  which 
have  their  distinct  work,  but  to  colleges  and 
high  schools  which  stand  for  modern,  liberal, 
Christian  education. 

After  the  early  colleges  in  America  had  taken 
root,  higher  education  worked  its  way  inland; 
and  so  with  the  colleges  of  China.  The  Ameri- 
can authorities  took  upon  themselves  the  re- 
sponsibility of  founding  State  institutions,  after 
the  Colonial  colleges  had  proved  successful,  but 


Prominent  Educators 


173 


in  these  distinctively  religious  teaching  played  a 
lesser  part.  In  China  the  Government,  Imperial 
and  Provincial,  has  established  or  allowed  to  be 
established  a number  of  State  colleges,  which  are 
the  forerunners  of  a new  educational  system. 

It  must  be  doubted  whether  China  judged  by 
our  standards  has  yet  produced  one  educator. 
Capable  teachers,  no  doubt  have  been  brought 
forward,  but  the  new  learning  is  too  young  to 
have  yet  matured  such  native  leaders  as  one  finds 
in  Japan.  Education  will  be  for  many  years,  if 
it  justifies  the  name,  in  the  hands  of  foreigners. 
The  chief  educational  honors  are  about  evenly 
divided  between  two  college  presidents  in  North 
China  who  have  developed  strong  Christian  insti- 
tutions:— C.  W.  Mateer,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of  Teng 
Chou  College,  and  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  D.  D.,  of 
North  China  College.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  LL.  D., 
may  be  said  to  be  the  founder  of  modern  state 
education  in  China.  He  was  elected  President  of 
the  T‘ung  Wen  College  in  1869,  remained  at  its 
head  for  twenty-five  years,  and  was  then  chosen 
President  of  the  Imperial  University.  But  Presi- 
dents Tenney  and  Ferguson  have  the  credit  of 
developing  prior  to  the  Boxer  uprising  the  most 
thorough  and  well-equipped  government  col- 
leges, amidst,  it  must  be  remembered,  many 
vexations  and  uncertainties. 

Hongkong  is  advantageously  situated  to  wield 
a great  educational  influence  over  the  neighbor- 
ing continent  if  she  awakes  to  her  opportunity. 
In  the  British  Colony  there  are  fewer  of  the 


174  Schools  in  Hongkong 

prejudices  and  shortcomings  of  “old  custom,” 
and  Hongkong  is  largely  composed  of  Cantonese, 
who  as  far  as  enterprise  goes,  are  the  Britons  of 
China.  Their  business  and  colonizing  interests 
however,  lead  them  to  place  a purely  commercial 
value  on  education.  The  students  leave  the  class- 
room for  remunerative  positions  before  their 
education  has  begun  to  soak  in.  In  this  respect, 
the  results  in  Hongkong  do  not  measure  up  to 
those  in  most  of  the  schools  and  colleges  of 
Middle  and  North  China,  although  the  govern- 
ment makes  a continuous  and  systematic  effort 
to  meet  its  obligations,  in  a community  where 
the  ruling  race  is  in  the  vast  minority. 

The  Hongkong  school  system  dates  its  expan- 
sion from  1873,  when  the  grant-in-aid  system  was 
adopted.  In  twenty  years  there  had  grown  up 
229  schools,  and  in  them  were  10,940  scholars. 
Of  this  number  of  schools,  nearly  one  hundred 
were  private  Confucian  institutions,  ninety-five 
were  Christian  mission  schools,  and  thirty-five 
were  Colonial  Government  schools.  Out  of  these 
229  “ hardly  sixteen  schools  could  be  said  to  have 
proper  accommodation  ” in  rooms  or  buildings. 
Purely  English  instruction  has  constantly  been 
gaining  ground.  The  system  does  not  lift  the 
pupils  up  into  real  college  work;  the  best  of  the 
institutions  rank  with  secondary  schools.  The 
Local  Oxford  Examinations  have  for  some  years 
been  essayed  with  success  by  both  boys  and 
girls,  and  in  1892  arrangements  were  completed 
whereby  the  Examinations  of  London  University, 


QUEEN’S  COLLEGE,  IIONG-KONG. 

WITH  OVER  1,500  STUDENTS,  MOSTLY  CHINESE,  IN  ATTENDANCE. 


Schools  in  Hongkong  175 

and  of  the  College  of  Preceptors  in  London, 
might  be  held  in  Hongkong. 

A Central  School  for  Girls,  mostly  of  Eurasian 
birth,  was  opened  by  the  Government  in  1890, 
and  Christian  schools  for  girls  have  also  been 
started  whose  students  have  borne  themselves 
honorably  in  the  university  examinations. 

Queen’s  was  the  first  Government  College  for 
Chinese  in  the  East,  but  it  is  conducted  by  the 
British  Colonial,  not  the  Chinese  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment. There  are  about  1,500  boys  in  attend- 
ance, and  the  College  enjoys  an  income,  from 
fees  and  Government  appropriations  of  over 
$40,000  in  silver.  No  dormitories  are  provided 
and  each  student  shifts  for  himself.  The  tuition 
charged  is  about  thirty  dollars,  and  of  the  ex- 
penditure for  each  student,  he  himself  pays  about 
sixty-six  cents  and  the  Government  thirty-four 
cents  of  every  dollar. 

In  a Report  of  the  Examiners  attention  is  called 
"to  the  great  unevenness  of  merit  in  almost 
every  class  in  almost  every  subject.”  This  was 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  college  has  been 
in  such  a crowded  condition  that  students  were 
forced  up  into  classes  for  which  they  were  not 
prepared.  The  study  of  English  colloquial  was 
not  yielding  the  results  that  it  should;  Euclid 
was  a dark  maze  for  some  of  the  lads;  there  was 
considerable  stupidity  as  to  foreign  geography; 
and  history  was  not  given  the  range  the  ex- 
aminers thought  necessary.  The  system  was 
submitted  to  an  investigating  committee  in  1902, 


176  The  Government's  First  Steps 

as  radical  changes  were  demanded.  A large 
sum  of  money  has  been  privately  subscribed  to 
found  a new  public  school  with  branches  in  such 
continental  cities  as  Canton  and  Shanghai. 

Education  in  Hongkong  is  a great  disappoint- 
ment to  the  keen  observer.  It  cannot  be  pointed 
to  in  either  methods  or  results  as  an  object-lesson 
for  the  neighboring  Middle  Kingdom.  Judged 
by  their  own  critics  we  must  conclude  that  a 
young  man  of  any  nationality,  no  matter  how 
diligent,  cannot  get  an  advanced  education  with- 
out going  out  of  the  Colony. 

The  Treaty  of  Tientsin,  negotiated  between 
China  and  England  in  i860,  called  into  being  the 
Tsung  Li  Yamen  or  Bureau  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
The  Yamen  recognized  at  once  that  it  must  have 
trained  Chinese  interpreters  and  secretaries,  and 
the  following  year  the  T‘ung  Wen  College  was 
opened  in  Peking.  It  has  been  as  its  name  im- 
plies a language  school,  and  devoted  largely  to 
English,  French,  German  and  Russian.  Four 
years  later  a science  department  was  added,  but 
the  College  continued  to  be  mainly  given  to  the 
training  of  interpreters  for  the  diplomatic  service. 

The  Chinese  authorities  took  a second  step 
along  the  educational  pathway  in  1872,  when  Mr. 
Yung  Wing  (later  LL.  D.,  Yale),  was  intrusted 
with  the  education  of  120  Chinese  youths  in 
America.  In  1881,  the  young  men  were  all  re- 
called to  China.  Their  nine  years  of  study 
abroad,  however,  could  not  be  eradicated  from 
their  minds,  and  had  they  not  been  so  mistrusted 


VICEROY  CHANG  CHIH  TUNG. 

PATRON  OF  MODERN  COLLEGES,  MANUFACTURES. 
AND  MILITARY  SCIENCE. 


in 


Viceroy  Chang’s  Colleges 

and  hated  by  the  conservatives  in  China  they 
might  long  since  have  been  of  great  service  to 
their  mother  land. 

About  this  time  several  colleges  styled  “T'ung 
Wen  ” were  opened  in  various  provincial  capitals, 
but  none  have  been  so  influential  as  the  Peking 
college  of  this  name. 

The  Viceroy  Chang  Chih  Tung  at  Wu  Ch'ang 
is  a curious  mixture  of  new  ideas  and  old.  Dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
he  played  with  Western  education  at  his  capital. 
American,  English,  German,  French,  Belgian  and 
Russian  professors  were  imported  and  colleges  of 
Languages,  Agriculture,  Military  Science,  Me- 
chanics and  Mining  were  inaugurated.  These 
educators  came  to  China  with  a willing  mind, 
but  were  met  by  every  sort  of  restriction,  change 
of  plan,  lack  of  financial  support,  and  ignorant 
opposition  from  the  Viceroy  and  his  advisers. 
The  graduates  of  Cornell  University  who  were 
invited  to  Wu  Ch'ang  to  found  and  conduct  the 
Agricultural  College  were  forced  to  wait  for 
months  for  instructions  and  then  were  turned 
from  the  presence  of  the  Viceroy  with  only 
rhetorical  phrases:  “1  want  you  to  cover  the 

hills  with  forests,  fill  the  rivers  with  fish,  teach 
the  people  to  cultivate  the  soil,  grow  all  manner 
of  fruits,  and  raise  all  kinds  of  cattle.”  But 
when  they  asked  for  land  to  cultivate  as  an  ex- 
ample, for  a college  plant,  and  for  students  to 
teach,  their  practicality  quite  bewildered  the 
authorities.  After  a long  friendly  struggle  with 


State  Colleges 


178 

the  powers  that  be,  the  professors  resigned  and 
returned  to  America  unwilling  to  fritter  away 
their  time  at  Wu  Ch'ang. 

The  first  real  effort  of  Chinese  officials  to  es- 
tablish a thorough  educational  plant  resulted  in 
1895  in  Tientsin  University.  This  was  followed 
in  1897  by  the  Nan  Yang  College  in  Shanghai, 
established  by  Imperial  Edict,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  His  Excellency  Sheng  Kung  Pao. 
The  Imperial  Peking  University  was  inaugurated, 
in  1898,  by  the  Emperor,  but  its  proximity  to  the 
headquarters  of  official  obstructiveness  resulted 
in  no  little  anxiety  to  the  faculty  in  charge.  Dr. 
Martin  who  had  been  its  President  from  the  be- 
ginning had  barely  secured  a large  group  of 
native  buildings  and  gathered  several  hundred 
students  when  the  Boxer  uprising  dispersed 
them,  and  had  scarcely  reorganized  the  institution 
thereafter  when  he  and  his  associates  found 
themselves  relieved  of  office  by  the  Chinese 
Chancellor.  The  University  buildings  were  con- 
verted into  a modern  school  for  Manchus,  and  a 
campus  four  miles  square  was  set  apart  for  the 
University  to  the  west  of  the  city.  Mr.  C.  D. 
Tenney,  Ph.  D.,  formerly  of  the  American  Board, 
was  the  President  of  the  Tientsin  University  up 
to  the  Boxer  outbreak,  and  is  now  Superintend- 
ent of  Education  in  Chihli  Province.  He  saw 
his  buildings  erected,  his  students  gathered  to 
the  number  of  250,  his  teaching  staff  called,  and 
his  courses  of  study  perfected,  and  then  all  was 
temporarily  swept  away  in  the  Boxer  cataclysm. 


i79 


After  the  Boxer  Uprising 

Mr.  John  C.  Ferguson,  Ph.  D.,  who  created  the 
Nanking  University  (Methodist),  resigned  its 
presidency  to  accept  that  of  the  Government 
Nan  Yang  College  at  Shanghai  but  was  relieved 
from  office  in  1902.  This  institution  is  housed 
in  the  most  elaborate  college  buildings  in  China, 
and  thorough  courses  of  study  characterize  its 
curriculum.  The  first  encouraging  outcome  of 
the  Boxer  uprising  was  the  selection  of  Dr.  W. 
M.  Hayes  as  President  of  a new  Provincial  Col- 
lege in  Shantung,  an  appointment  which  within 
a year  was  destined  to  greatly  influence  China  as 
will  appear  later  in  this  work. 

During  her  hegira  in  1900-1901,  the  Empress 
Dowager  made  up  her  mind  to  ignore  the  coun- 
sels of  the  Conservatives  and  to  follow  the  advice 
of  several  of  her  well-informed  viceroys.  She 
not  only  issued  edicts  preparing  the  way  for  the 
reforming  of  the  Civil  Service  Examinations,  as 
already  noted,  but  also  sent  forth  several  procla- 
mations in  regard  to  fully  organized  modern  col- 
leges. Educationally  the  year  1901  in  China  is 
likely  to  rank  with  1872  in  Japan  if  the  Govern- 
ment is  shown  to  be  sincere.  On  September 
13th,  1901,  the  Empress  Dowager  commanded 
that  “all  existing  colleges  in  the  Empire  be  turned 
into  schools  and  colleges  of  Western  learning. 
Each  provincial  capital  is  to  have  a university  like 
the  Peking  University,  whilst  in  the  prefectures 
and  districts  of  the  various  provinces  are  to  be 
established  schools  and  colleges  of  the  second 
and  third  classes.” 


l8o  Education  by  Proclamation 

This  announcement  of  policy  was  followed  in 
November  by  another  educational  edict  which 
recognized  the  greatest  single  obstacle  in  the 
path  of  effective  reform.  “ We  issued  on  a 
previous  occasion  an  edict  on  this  question  (of 
Colleges)  enjoining  upon  all  our  Viceroys,  Gov- 
ernors and  literary  Chancellors,  strict  obedience 
to  our  commands,”  which  some  of  them  were 
disposed  to  treat  as  mere  words,  written  to  please 
Europeans.  “ But  it  would  appear  that  if  we 
insist  upon  all  the  Provinces  beginning  at  the 
same  time  to  establish  said  schools  and  colleges 
it  may  chance  that  the  country  does  not  possess 
or  cannot  produce  all  at  once  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  men  to  conduct  these  new  institutions;  or 
if  one  waits  for  the  prefectures  and  districts  to 
start  their  schools  before  establishing  the  pro- 
vincial colleges,  it  will  only  furnish  to  dilatory 
officials  an  excuse  to  delay  sine  die  the  inaugu- 
ration of  these  important  reform  measures.”  The 
way  of  progress  suggested  was  that  at  each  pro- 
vincial capital  a university  with  a suitable  pre- 
paratory school  should  be  forthwith  established, 
the  prefectural  and  district  colleges  and  high 
schools  being  left  for  later  consideration. 

Education  by  proclamation  proceeded  with 
dispatch,  and  on  December  5th,  1901,  a most  im- 
portant, far-seeing  edict  was  promulgated,  based 
on  the  recommendations  of  H.  E.  Yuan  Shih 
K’ai,  who  in  turn  took  them  from  President  W. 
M.  Hayes  of  Chi  Nan  Fu.  Herein  the  new 
learning  was  officialized,  provision  being  made 


YUAN  SHIH  KAI  TUAN  FONG 

GOVERNOR  OF  SHENSI 


An  Important  Edict  1 8 1 

for  the  suitable  recognition  of  college  graduates, 
as  of  examination  graduates,  in  official  service. 

“The  various  Viceroys,  Governors,  and  Liter- 
ary Chancellors  of  provinces  are  therefore  to  obey 
the  regulations  suggested,  which  are  as  follows: 
Graduates  of  the  lower  schools,  of  promise  and 
ability,  are  to  be  sent  to  the  middle  schools  to 
complete  a course  of  higher  studies,  and  gradu- 
ates from  the  latter  selected  for  their  talents  and 
ability  are  to  be  sent  to  the  colleges  of  their  na- 
tive provinces  to  go  through  another  course  of 
study.  After  these  have  graduated  from  their 
respective  colleges  they  are  to  be  styled  ‘stu- 
dents of  the  superior  class  ’ and  are  then  to  be 
thoroughly  examined  by  their  own  Viceroys  or 
Governors  and  Literary  Chancellors  and  the  most 
promising  are  to  be  granted  passports  to  go  to 
Peking  for  reexamination  at  the  Peking  Univer- 
sity, after  which  they  are  to  await  an  Imperial 
decree  bestowing  upon  them  the  literary  degrees 
of  Chu  Jen  or  M.  A.  and  Kung  Seng  or  Senior 
Licentiate.  The  latter  are  then  to  remain  and 
again  compete  at  the  next  following  examina- 
tions for  the  said  M.  A.  degree.  Those  who  have 
obtained  their  M.  A.  degree  are  to  again  undergo 
another  strict  examination  at  the  Peking  Univer- 
sity and  the  most  promising  are  to  be  sent  by  the 
said  university  authorities  to  the  Board  of  Rites. 
The  said  board  will  then  memorialize  the  Throne 
asking  that  some  high  Ministers  of  the  Court  be 
appointed  to  hold  a special  examination  of  these 
M.  A.  candidates  and  a recommendation  will  then 
be  presented  to  the  Throne  asking  for  the  grant- 
ing of  the  Doctor’s  degree  (Chin  Shih)  to  the  suc- 
cessful students.  An  examination  of  the  latter 
will  then  be  held  in  one  of  the  Throne  halls,  after 
which  the  successful  candidates  are  to  be  intro- 


182  University  in  Shansi 

duced  to  the  Throne,  when  either  the  grade  of 
Han  Lin  bachelor,  or  secretaries  of  the  Six  Boards, 
or  secretaries  of  the  Grand  Secretariat  will  be  be- 
stowed upon  them.” 

Through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Timothy  Richard 
the  Governor  of  Shansi  set  apart  in  1901  taels 
500,000,  or  about  $330,000,  for  modern  educa- 
tion in  that  province,  and  placed  under  Dr. 
Richard’s  control  the  foreign-department  of  a 
new  university  at  T‘ai  Yuan  Fu  of  which  Mr. 
Moir  Duncan,  M.  A.,  is  now  President.  This 
educational  grant  has  a singular  history.  Dr. 
Richard  was  called  upon  by  the  Governor  of 
Shansi  and  the  Chinese  Peace  Commissioners  at 
Peking  to  propose  a basis  for  settling  the  claims 
of  Chinese  and  foreigners  which  arose  out  of  the 
holocaust  in  that  province  in  1900.  Instead  of 
classifying  this  sum  as  “indemnity,”  it  was 
agreed  by  all  concerned,  upon  Dr.  Richard’s 
recommendation,  that  it  should  be  used  for  edu- 
cational purposes  in  Shansi.  This  policy  was 
far  sighted,  and  appealed  to  the  Chinese  high 
and  low  as  eminently  fair,  and,  what  is  not  so 
usual,  essentially  moderate.  The  Chinese  of 
Shanghai  subscribed  taels  30,000  to  house  500 
boys  in  a preparatory  school.  A Chinese  mer- 
chant, and  his  son,  bequeathed  $200,000  to  build 
and  endow  another  primary  school  in  Shanghai, 
also  in  1901,  while  another  Chinese  offered 
Shanghai  his  library  and  $25,000  towards  a suit- 
able building.  The  Southern  Methodist  denomi- 
nation bespoke  $150,000  to  found  and  equip  the 


KANG  YU  WEI.  SHEN  TUN  110. 

REFORM  adviseb  to  emperor,  empress  dowager  head  op  FOREIGN  BUREAU,  SHANSI, 

OFFERED  $100,000  FOR  1US  HEAD.  AN  OFFICIAL  OF  WHOM  MUCH  IS  HOPED. 


Chinese  Students  Abroad  183 

Tung  Wu  College  at  Soochow.  At  Ningpo  the 
gentry  subscribed  §25,000  to  open  there  a college 
of  new  learning,  while  all  over  the  Empire  there 
were  attempts  of  more  or  less  earnestness  by 
people  and  officials  to  conform  to  the  new  order. 
An  action  second  in  importance  to  none  was 
determined  upon  after  the  Boxer  outbreak 
whereby  the  collegiate,  medical  and  theological 
colleges  in  Peking  and  Tung  Chou  conducted  by 
the  Congregational,  London,  Methodist,  and 
Presbyterian  missionaries  were,  subject  to  ap- 
proval at  home,  united  in  one  Peking  University 
under  Christian  control. 

Confucius  once  said,  “While  his  parents  are 
alive  the  son  may  not  go  abroad  to  a distance. 
If  he  does  go  abroad  he  must  have  a fixed  place 
to  which  he  goes,”  and  since  1872  the  Imperial 
Government  of  China  has  kept  the  ancient  in- 
junction. The  Viceroys  Liu  Kun  Yi,  Chang 
Chih  Tung  and  Kuei  Chun,  however,  broke  the 
spell,  braved  custom  and  delegated  students  to 
study  in  foreign  lands.  In  the  autumn  of  1901 
the  Empress  Dowager  endorsed  this  plan  and 
stipulated  that 

“Upon  the  return  of  a student  from  abroad 
with  his  diplomas  proving  the  completion  of  his 
studies  for  a profession,  he  may  present  himself 
before  the  Viceroy  or  Governor  and  Literary 
Chancellor  of  his  native  province  for  examination, 
and,  if  approved  of,  may  then  be  recommended 
to  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  for  employ- 
ment, and  subsequently  memorialized  to  the 


184  Chinese  Students  Abroad 

Throne  for  promotion  by  the  said  Ministry. 
The  various  expenses  of  the  education  abroad  of 
said  students  shall  be  paid  by  the  Viceroys  or 
Governors  of  the  young  men’s  native  provinces, 
on  account  of  the  Imperial  exchequer.  Any 
student  desiring  to  go  abroad  at  his  own  expense 
may  obtain  an  official  dispatch  from  his  Viceroy 
or  Governor  introducing  said  student  to  the  Chi- 
nese Minister  accredited  to  the  country  where  the 
said  student  wishes  to  obtain  his  education,  re- 
questing said  minister  to  take  care  of  the  young 
man  and  render  any  needful  help  required. 
These  private  students  may,  if  they  so  desire,  be 
treated  on  the  same  privileged  terms  as  are  to  be 
accorded  to  those  who  have  been  sent  abroad  at 
Government  expense,  and  may  also  be  granted 
the  literary  degree  of  M.  A.,  and  Doctor,  like  the 
others,  should  they  prove  their  knowledge  of 
Chinese  literature  equal  to  the  attainment  of  such 
high  degrees.” 


A score  of  well  selected  men  were  sent  to 
America;  but  Japan  attracted  larger  numbers 
because  of  its  proximity  and  the  similarity  of  the 
written  language,  and  because  of  the  well  known 
severity  and  incivility,  experienced  by  Chinese 
students,  at  the  hands  of  immigration  inspectors 
in  America.  Early  in  1902  there  were  271  Chi- 
nese students,  from  fifteen  provinces,  studying 
in  the  Sun  Rise  Kingdom. 

The  reactionaries  and  conservatives  who 
thought  by  the  Boxer  uprising  to  eradicate 
foreign  influence  from  China  were  hoist  by  their 
own  petard.  But  opposition  is  not  yet  over,  for 
the  conservatives  are  numbered  by  tens  of  thou- 


Opposition  of  Han  Lins  185 

sands.  It  took  ten  years  of  civil  strife  to  estab- 
lish reform  in  Japan,  it  may  take  longer  in  China. 

These  reform  measures  have  already  stirred  up 
the  organized  opposition  of  certain  members  of 
the  Han  Lin  Academy,  who  memorialized  the 
Chancellor  to  the  effect  that  the  devotees  of  the 
new  were  sure  to  supplant  the  devotees  of  the 
old  learning,  and  asked  for  redress.  Their 
memorial  was  returned  to  them  with  this  legend 
written  on  its  back:  “ While  not  being  equal  to 

others  you  also  refuse  to  concede  your  inferior- 
ity. This  is  the  acme  of  shamelessness.  Let  the 
memorialists  concerned  be  ordered  to  refrain 
from  degrading  themselves  any  further.” 


SCHOLASTIC  AND  RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS 


XX 


EASTERN  EDUCATIONAL  CONDITIONS 

THE  aim  of  Confucian  education  has  been 
to  qualify  men  for  civil  and  military  serv- 
ice. Western  education  in  the  East  must 
make  liberal  provision  for  this  objective,  but  in 
such  a manner  as  not  to  denationalize  the  peoples 
to  whom  it  is  applied.  It  has  in  its  power,  in  the 
coming  days,  the  administration  of  the  Far  East- 
ern World.  In  addition  to  the  Confucian  morali- 
zation,  the  new  system  must  emphasize  morals 
both  as  a science  for  study,  and  as  a habit  for 
practice.  Statecraft  will  be  more  thoroughly 
taught  than  in  the  West,  but  education  has 
higher  than  political  aims.  It  aspires  to  produce 
for  the  State  better  and  more  capable  officials  to 
be  sure,  but  it  expects  first  of  all  to  make  of  the 
individual  a more  efficient  man.  Pope’s  charac- 
terization of  a gentleman  of  his  day  as  having 
“loads  of  learned  lumber  in  his  head,”  is  exceed- 
ingly descriptive  of  the  average  Chinese  literatus. 

The  great  incentive  in  the  old  regime  was  the 
hope  of  official  appointment.  In  the  newer  edu- 
cation aspiration  for  political  office  seems  to  have 
assumed  a less  important  place,  and  the  commer- 
cial power  of  English  education  has  taken  the 
189 


190  Salary  or  Service 

preeminence.  An  English  educated,  or  half-edu- 
cated youth,  has  an  earning  power  in  business 
life  tenfold  greater  than  his  brother  who  knows 
no  English.  Business  positions  have  been  the 
objective  of  the  majority  of  Chinese  students  of 
the  new  learning.  This  has  a tendency  to  raise 
the  social  position  of  the  merchant  and  banker  to 
more  nearly  the  respectability  of  “business  men ” 
in  the  West.  The  social  classes  in  China  have 
always  been  grouped  as  follows : — scholars,  farm- 
ers, mechanics,  and  lastly  merchants.  In  the  East 
the  untitled  citizen,  with  the  exception  of  the  stu- 
dent, however  respectable  or  wealthy,  has  been  de- 
cidedly inferior  in  social  standing  to  the  noble,  or 
the  official,  however  poor  or  dishonest.  But,  as 
against  this  praiseworthy  tendency  to  elevate  the 
man  of  affairs  in  the  social  scale,  the  new  education 
must  be  charged  with  having  played  into  the  hands 
of  the  money  changers.  The  Chinese  is  as  keen 
as  the  Jew  on  monetary  questions.  He  sees  the  pe- 
cuniary value  and  is  likely  to  belittle  the  higher 
aspects  of  learning.  There  are  many  notable  ex- 
amples of  the  opposite  among  Christian  Chinese, 
but  they  serve  to  enforce  the  general  rule.  It  yet 
remains  to  be  sufficiently  impressed  on  the  East- 
ern mind  that  education  means  not  salary,  but 
service. 

Lord  Charles  Beresford  has  urged  that  military 
and  fiscal  reforms  in  China  would  preserve  her 
intact,  and  that  she  should  be  compelled  to  make 
these  reforms  under  the  guidance  of  disinterested 
parties.  There  is  no  disposition  to  question  the 


Importance  of  Educational  Reform  191 

need  of  such  reforms,  but  they  would  prove  in- 
adequate. A reshaping  of  the  educational  policy 
of  China  would  strike  nearer  the  heart  of  the 
problem.  Education  represents  the  higher  na- 
tional reform  work  permissible  to  a govern- 
ment for  the  renovation  and  strengthening  of 
itself  and  its  people.  Japanese  statesmanship  has 
realized  the  fact  that  education  should  occupy  a 
preeminent  place  in  the  government  policy.  The 
Mombusho  is  a power  in  the  nation.  China  and 
Korea  need  besides  honest  finance  a modern  edu- 
cational system.  The  imperial  customs,  tele- 
graph, and  postal  systems  of  China  are  now 
organized  on  a modern  basis.  The  finances  of 
Korea  have  been  brought  in  a few  years  from 
chaos  to  order  by  Mr.  McLeavy  Brown.  Some 
such  system  as  Sir  Robert  Hart  has  perfected  in 
the  imperial  maritime  customs  might  be  operated 
in  behalf  of  education.  The  responsible  author- 
ities should  put  their  trust  in  one  or  more  foreign 
educators,  as  Japan  relied  upon  Dr.  Guido  Ver- 
beck  and  his  associates,  although  in  China 
provincial  superintendents  and  treasurers  will 
figure  prominently,  and  accomplish  more  at 
present,  because  freed  from  the  close  scrutiny  of 
the  Peking  obstructionists.  Ultimately  a national 
board  of  education  which  could  gather  up  and 
utilize  the  best  experience  already  gained  by 
educators  in  China  will  be  established.  New  in- 
stitutions of  learning  would  then  be  founded 
only  as  rapidly  as  they  could  be  properly  manned 
by  Chinese  and  foreign  teachers.  The  govern- 


192  Financing  Education 

ment  colleges  already  established  could  be  guar- 
anteed freedom  from  the  pilfering  and  pettifog- 
ging of  the  officials.  Western  nations  demanded 
as  a right  the  reorganization  of  the  Chinese 
custom’s  service,  that  their  trade  might  be  pro- 
tected and  facilitated.  In  reorganizing  the  army, 
as  Lord  Beresford  has  suggested,  these  nations 
would  be  acting  as  much  for  their  own  benefit 
as  for  China’s.  But  the  reform  of  education  is 
based  on  China’s  duty  to  her  own  people,  and  if 
insisted  on  by  the  enlightened  powers,  would  be 
an  exhibition  of  true  philanthropy  among  na- 
tions. 

A stroke  of  the  Imperial  pen  may  establish 
schools  and  colleges,  but  it  takes  money  to  run 
them.  In  Japan  an  annual  income  of  thirty-four 
millions  of  yen  from  taxation,  fees  and  gifts  is 
available  for  educational  purposes.  Superintend- 
ent Campbell,  whom  the  King  appointed  to 
direct  education  in  Siam,  says  that  his  greatest 
problem  is  to  secure  suitable  financial  support 
from  the  government  which  invited  him  to  his 
task.  In  China  there  has  been  no  national  sys- 
tem except  the  Confucian.  The  local  govern- 
ment colleges  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  the 
authorities,  and  this  has  been  disastrous  for  new 
foundations  at  Nanking,  Soochow  and  Changsha, 
although  several  naval,  military  and  literary  col- 
leges weathered  the  severe  storms  of  1898  and 
1899.  The  annual  cost  to  the  government  and  to 
the  individual  of  the  Confucian  system,  would, 
if  diverted  to  modern  education,  support  a na- 


ST.  JOHN’S  COLLEGE,  SHANGHAI. 

THIS  BUILDING  IS  A QUADRA  NGLH,  AND  'II 1 10  WHOLE  COLLEGE  IS 
CROWDED  WITH  STUDENTS. 


The  Problem  of  Teachers 


193 


tional  system  of  colleges.  State  education  in 
China  and  Korea  will  never  be  on  a safe  footing, 
even  when  fully  authorized  by  the  government, 
until  its  control  is  lodged  with  a board  of  com- 
petent foreign  and  native  educators. 

There  are  two  essentials  in  every  school,  pupils 
and  teachers.  There  seems  to  be  no  lack  of  the 
former  in  the  East,  but  the  native  teaching  force 
is  a real  problem.  With  the  new  education  there 
goes  the  necessity  of  new  methods  of  teaching, 
and  new  methods  of  training  teachers.  Hence, 
in  one  sense,  the  normal  school  should  precede 
the  secondary  schools.  The  fifty  Japanese  nor- 
mal schools  are  making  heroic  efforts  to  provide 
trained  Japanese  teachers.  If  education  in  China 
should  follow  the  giant  strides  of  the  reform 
edicts,  its  greatest  problem  would  be  that  of  pro- 
viding teachers,  for  the  Government  has  not  a 
single  well  conducted  normal  school  at  its  com- 
mand. 

During  the  halcyon  days  of  Kuang  Hsu,  the 
foreign  colleges  in  China  were  besieged  by 
Chinese  literary  men  of  the  old  school.  The 
demand  for  teachers  of  the  foreign  learning  was 
so  great  that  men  with  the  merest  smattering  of 
the  advertised  article  set  themselves  up  as  “pro- 
fessors of  English.”  One  such  quack  was  teach- 
ing chemistry  to  a group  of  inland  Celestials,  but 
his  entire  equipment  consisted  of  a few  formulae, 
which  he  did  not  understand,  and  a group  of 
diagrams.  An  American  in  Shanghai  was  one 
day  interviewed  by  a young  Japanese  who  spoke 


194  New  Type  of  Teaching 

English  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  who  had 
just  arrived  from  Japan,  with  a purpose  to  estab- 
lish himself  in  the  interior  of  China  as  a “ pro- 
fessor of  Japanese  and  English.”  Although  a 
total  stranger  he  came  to  get  directions  and 
letters  of  introduction! 

After  the  Empress  Dowager’s  authorization  of 
foreign  studies  in  1901  there  was  another  pell- 
mell  rush  of  Chinese  scholars  to  the  feet  of  for- 
eign teachers.  Many  who  had  been  not  long 
before  harried  and  hunted  for  their  lives  were 
now  reverenced  for  their  learning.  Temples  and 
Palaces,  as  at  Tientsin  and  Peking,  which  had 
been  the  centres  of  Boxer  brutalities  in  the  at- 
tempt to  “drive  the  foreign  devils  into  the  sea,” 
were  now  turned  into  schools  with  one  or  more 
of  these  same  demons  acting,  by  invitation,  as 
preceptors.  In  default  of  a learned  foreigner  any 
foreigner  would  do,  or  even  a Chinese  who  could 
pronounce  the  strange  English  phonetics. 

New  methods  of  teaching  must  supplant  the 
Oriental  type.  The  teacher’s  work  is  revolution- 
ized in  the  new  system;  he  cannot  follow  the 
tactics  which  brought  his  father  up  through  the 
grades  from  the  school  in  the  village  Ancestral 
Hall  to  the  Chu  Jen  laurels.  Rattle-brained 
teachers,  as  well  as  teachers  with  the  odd  old 
teaching  methods,  must  give  place  to  other  and 
newer  men. 

During  the  early  days  of  foreign  instruction  of 
Chinese  youth,  and  even  up  to  the  present  in  not 
a few  instances,  there  was  such  a dearth  of  stu- 


Independence  of  Chinese  Students  195 

dents,  and  in  many  cases  such  poverty,  that  the 
Christian  and  government  colleges  not  only  gave 
free  tuition  but  also,  in  many  cases,  free  board 
and  lodgings.  This  method  of  supporting  stu- 
dents, instead  of  providing  scholarships  and  fel- 
lowships as  a reward  for  ability,  began  to  be 
displaced  as  soon  as  the  Chinese  government 
popularized  Western  education  by  favoring  it. 
The  view  point  of  Chinese  students  as  emphat- 
ically stated  at  Nan  Yang  College  in  1901  is  not 
without  interest.  This  fine  institution,  sup- 
ported by  the  Government,  provides  instruction, 
board  and  lodgings  free.  The  students  de- 
manded not  only  self-government,  but  the  right 
also  to  elect  the  professors  and  assistant  profess- 
ors who  teach  them.  They  protested  against 
paying  for  “extras”  and  on  the  whole  reasoned 
as  follows:  This  college  is  supported  by  the 
Government;  the  Government  gets  its  money 
from  the  people;  we  are  the  people,  and  there- 
fore why  should  we  pay  for  anything  provided 
by  the  college;  and  why  should  we  be  denied  a 
control  over  an  institution  supported  by  our  own 
money  ? Late  in  the  year  1902  two  hundred 
or  more  of  the  students  struck  and  left  the 
college  because  a “conservative”  professor 
was  not  removed  from  the  faculty  at  their  de- 
mand. 

The  vast  library  of  scientific  literature  which 
is  at  the  disposal  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  student 
was  not  created  in  a day.  Conceive,  if  you  can, 
of  peoples  without  any  of  the  books  of  study 


196  Revolutionizing  a Language 

which  we  consider  essential,  and  with  no  ex- 
pressions to  convey  our  scientific  terms  to  the 
intellect  of  the  men  who  desire  to  master  them. 
This  inadequacy  of  literature  and  inability  of 
language  half  dismays  the  Western  educator 
when  he  begins  his  labors  in  the  Far  East. 

The  choice  must  be  made  between  teaching 
science,  for  instance,  in  the  English  language,  or 
creating  new  words  in  the  Japanese,  Chinese, 
Korean  and  Siamese  languages  to  convey  scien- 
tific truths.  Both  methods  present  difficulties, 
and  both  are  used.  In  Japan,  opinion  strongly 
inclines  to  teaching  the  advanced  sciences  in 
English.  The  Chinese  are  indebted  to  the  mis- 
sionaries for  practically  all  their  serviceable  text- 
books on  such  sciences  as  geography,  zoology, 
mechanics,  hydrostatics,  electricity,  mineralogy, 
geometry,  light  and  heat,  and  many  others. 
The  words  for  the  chemical  elements,  for  the 
fifty-two  metals,  for  the  nine  gases,  and  the 
eight  earths  have  all  been  “coined”;  in  fact, 
dictionaries  devoted  entirely  to  new  terms  have 
been  published  in  Japan  and  China. 

In  visiting  the  public  schools  in  Hongkong, 
one  is  pained  to  observe  the  vain  struggle  which 
the  native  youth  are  making  in  their  search  for 
truth  through  the  medium  of  the  English  lan- 
guage. Scarcely  understanding  the  words  they 
read,  how  can  they  grasp  the  scientific  truth  ex- 
pressed ? The  committees  on  uniform  termi- 
nology have  arrived  at  a practical  agreement  as 
to  many  of  the  idiographs  which  ought  to  be 


i97 


Shall  Girls  Be  Taught? 

used  to  express  the  new  ideas  of  science.  A 
continuous  subtle  revolution  is  going  on  in  the 
Eastern  languages  by  the  creation  of  technical, 
scientific,  biographical  and  geographical  terms. 
It  illustrates,  also,  the  greater  revolution  in  prog- 
ress in  the  minds  of  the  Eastern  peoples. 

In  the  far  Eastern  lands,  with  the  exception  of 
Japan,  the  beginnings  only  have  been  made  in 
woman’s  education,  and  these  almost  entirely  by 
missionaries.  These  young  women  before  the 
conquest  of  Principles  and  Ideas  began  may  be 
fittingly  described  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  “wretched,  unidea’d  girls.” 

The  education  of  women  by  Oriental  govern- 
ments is  an  innovation  which  raises  the  strong 
opposition  of  the  conservatives.  The  idea  is  not 
germane  to  the  Eastern  mind.  Parents  of  wealth 
often  have  their  daughters  taught  by  tutors,  but 
the  family  or  clan  schools  have  been  for  the  boys. 
There  has  been  no  agitation  in  Chinese  villages, 
clans,  or  cities,  for  the  education  of  girls.  “ Why 
should  they  be  schooled  ? ” “ What  good  will  it 

do?”  “Your  daughter  must  be  married  and 
when  she  goes  to  live  with  her  mother-in-law 
what  possible  good  can  you  derive  from  the 
money  spent  on  her  education?”  It  is  only  in 
communities  where  Christian  teaching  has  shown 
the  Chinese  the  practical  value  of  education  to 
the  home  that  there  has  grown  up  a popular  de- 
mand for  schools  for  girls.  That  the  daughters 
of  Christians  can  “read  and  write  and  figure  ” is 
no  small  distinction  in  a non-Christian  com- 


First  Public  School 


198 

munity.  For  a long  time  yet  female  education 
in  China  will  be  left  to  benevolent,  or  private, 
enterprise.  Popular  sentiment  for  it  will  grow, 
and  will  ultimately  take  definite  form  in  local  and 
provincial  organization. 

The  difficulties  which  beset  Chinese  who  con- 
duct independent  schools  for  girls  are  seen  in  the 
history  of  the  Shanghai  attempt  of  this  kind. 
In  1898,  the  first  modern  Chinese  girls’  school  in 
China,  under  Chinese  auspices,  was  opened. 
The  daughter  of  the  now  banished  reformer, 
K'ang  Yu  Wei,  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the 
scheme,  and  numerous  benevolent  Chinese  gen- 
tlemen contributed  funds.  The  control  of  the 
school  was  vested  in  a committee  of  prominent 
Chinese  ladies,  of  whom  Mrs.  King  Ling  Shan 
was  chairman.  The  school  set  a premium  upon 
pupils  with  unbound  feet.  A Christian  foreign 
lady  was  finally  secured  as  principal  and  two 
schools  were  conducted  in  one  for  boarding  and 
for  day  pupils.  English  was  taught,  and  Chris- 
tian teaching  was  permitted,  but  the  worship  of 
Confucius  was,  at  least  at  first,  obligatory. 
Fifty-five  Chinese  girls  were  enrolled  in  both 
branches  of  the  school.  Even  the  dethronement 
of  the  Emperor,  in  September,  1898,  did  not 
seem  seriously  to  interfere  with  this  reform 
measure,  which  was  considered  to  have  most 
radical  elements. 

But,  during  the  latter  part  of  1899,  the  Imperial 
High  Commissioner  Kang  I,  made  his  tour  of 
mid-China  as  the  agent  of  the  reactionary  party, 


Wisdom  and  Women  199 

and  the  Chinese  Girls’  School  was  immediately 
closed  “ by  order.”  Do  not  the  classics  say  that, 
“ A wise  woman  is  more  likely  to  be  a curse  in  a 
family,  than  a blessing”?  “ Why  then  should 
Shanghai  desire  to  cumber  itself  with  female 
wisdom  ? ” 


XXI 


THE  OBLIGATION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

THE  Church  has  always  been  led  by  strong 
minds.  Should  its  leaders  be  inferior  in 
mental  grasp  to  leaders  in  law,  politics, 
and  education,  it  would  turn  from  the  ministry 
for  its  best  thought.  It  ever  must  be  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Church  that  she  is  being  led  by 
strong  as  well  as  spiritually-minded  men. 

Much  of  the  success  of  the  first  half-century 
of  Protestant  missionary  work  in  Japan  lay  in  the 
fact  that  Christianity  appealed  to  the  Samurai 
class,  and  chiefly  for  this  reason  it  commanded 
the  respect  of  the  nation.  It  sent  its  representa- 
tives into  the  legal  profession,  and  a Supreme 
Judge  was  chosen  from  its  ranks.  It  sent  its 
members  into  the  political  problems  of  Japan, 
and  a score  of  Christians  are  now  sitting  in  the 
Diet,  while  the  House  of  Representatives  has 
been  presided  over  for  several  terms  by  a Chris- 
tian statesman.  Christianity  has  given  the  coun- 
try men  who  are  real  educational  leaders,  and 
the  ministry  has  commanded  the  respect  of  the 
people. 

But  the  present  educational  outlook  of  the 
Church  is  not  encouraging.  Secular  education 
dwarfs  the  Christian  schools.  It  must  be  re- 
200 


An  Educated  Ministry  201 

corded  that  not  a single  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity system  in  Japan  has  entered  the  Christian 
ministry.  In  1901,  the  first  one  to  enter  any 
form  of  permanent  Christian  work,  became  Sec- 
retary of  the  National  Student  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association.  The  highest  Christian 
schools  at  present  are  of  middle  school  grade. 
Formerly  Christian  education  was  prominent, 
now  it  is  quite  unprepared  to  offer  courses  of 
study  comparable  to  those  provided  by  govern- 
ment colleges  and  universities  ; and  as  we  have 
stated,  the  ministry  is  not  attracting  men  from 
the  state  institutions.  One  is  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Christianity  must  lengthen  its  edu- 
cational cords  and  strengthen  its  stakes  if  it 
would  maintain  the  ministerial  standard  in  Japan. 

The  struggles  of  some  of  the  prominent  Chris- 
tian colleges,  and  the  difficulty  of  building  an 
inter-denominational  Christian  university,  leaves 
the  present  situation  quite  unsettled.  There  are 
three  possible  lines  of  action.  A Christian  col- 
lege of  equal  standing  to  the  government 
colleges  (“higher  schools”)  might  be  estab- 
lished and  conducted,  in  which  philosophy, 
science,  literature  and  morals  from  the  Christian 
standpoint  be  taught  as  they  are  in  such  seats  of 
learning  as  Amherst,  Williams,  Wesleyan  or 
Brown.  Theological  schools,  or  at  least  courses 
of  study  in  them,  could  be  arranged  so  as  to 
meet  the  need  and  invite  the  attendance  of  gov- 
ernment college  graduates.  The  graduate  is  very 
likely  to  look  down  upon  the  theological  school 


202  The  Ministry 

as  a place  for  training  men  of  little  education. 
As  in  many  theological  seminaries  in  the  West, 
two  distinct  courses  of  study  in  strongly  manned 
seminaries  would  meet  the  needs  of  the  two 
classes  of  students. 

The  work  of  the  Students’  Christian  Association 
among  all  the  government  colleges  should  be  so 
forcefully  conducted  as  to  deflect  many  of  the 
Japanese  students  into  the  Christian  callings. 
The  patriotism  of  the  Christian  Japanese,  his  de- 
sire for  learning,  his  purpose  to  be  of  service  to 
his  country,  and  his  love  for  Christ,  ought  to  lead 
him  to  value  the  opportunity  which  the  ministry 
presents  him.  His  country  needs  the  Gospel  of 
Righteousness,  far  more  than  the  gospel  of  rail- 
roads, of  factories,  and  of  electricity. 

I trust  that  no  argument  is  necessary  to  show 
that  the  present  elementary  and  middle  schools, 
conducted  by  missionaries,  are  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  the  Church  in  Japan.  If  the  annual  ap- 
propriations for  this  purpose  should  be  doubled, 
not  a yen  too  much  would  be  available.  In  a 
non-Christian  land  the  Church  has  a positive  duty 
to  her  children;  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Church  are  the  hope  of  the  Church.  Refusal  to 
train  her  children  is  suicide  for  herself.  The 
work  done  by  the  girls’  seminaries  in  Kobe, 
Nagasaki,  Yokohama,  Tokio  and  other  cities,  by 
the  boys’  academies  at  Kioto,  Tokio,  Kobe, 
Nagasaki  and  many  other  points,  are  of  prime 
importance  to  the  present  and  future  Church  in 
Japan. 


Principal  Jowett’s  Definition  203 

If  it  is  true  that  the  Japanese  student  leaves  the 
University  with  no  gods  in  his  mental  possession, 
it  is  quite  as  likely  to  be  true  that  he  has  no  faith 
in  God.  It  may  be  a question  whether  the  ardent 
heathen  is  not  a better  citizen  than  the  aggressive 
agnostic.  Christian  education  not  only  exposes 
the  impostures  of  false  religion,  but  it  also  offers 
a way  of  escape  from  irreligion.  It  is  needed  to 
propagate  morality,  as  well  as  distinctive  Chris- 
tianity. 

Principal  Jowett  of  Balliol,  is  the  author  of  the 
descriptive  definition  that,  “A  college  is  a place 
of  learning,  a place  of  society,  a place  of  re- 
ligion.” Even  if  it  be  acknowledged  that  the  ex- 
amination hall  in  Cathay  is  a place  of  learning,  it 
cannot  be  thought  that  it  is  a place  of  society. 
This  important  element  in  true  student  life  has 
been  contributed  to  China  only  in  recent  times. 
The  new  Christian  and  government  colleges  are 
places  of  society;  but  it  is  only  the  Christian  col- 
leges which  are  places  of  religion,  and  which 
realize  Dr.  Jowett’s  threefold  definition. 

Suppose  a man,  living  in  a non-Christian  land, 
whose  parents  are  heathen,  and  picture  the 
heathen  life  that  surges  past  him  and  upon  him 
day  by  day.  Suppose,  previous  to  his  conver- 
sion, he  had  gained  a Chinese  literary  degree  and 
he  now  desires  to  throw  his  life  and  talents  into 
preparation  for  Christian  service  among  his  own 
people.  He  realizes  that,  to  make  his  life  count  for 
the  most,  he  must  spend  some  years  in  acquiring 
a modern  education,  for  aside  from  a literary 


204 


Church  Leaders 


taste  his  Confucian  learning  is  largely  ignorance. 
But  he  is  informed  that  the  Church  with  which 
he  has  connected  himself  does  not  believe  in 
education  for  the  Chinese,  except  in  the  primary 
stage.  He  is  told  that  his  work  should  be  di- 
rected to  the  lower  classes  of  society,  among 
whom  an  uneducated  man  will  be  more  accep- 
table. Suppose  this  man  is  yourself,  and  that 
you  are  willing  at  any  personal  sacrifice  to  help 
your  dragon-haunted  country.  You  know  that 
your  nation  is  a literary  nation,  that  the  people 
“reverence  letters,”  that  lettered  men  command 
universal  respect;  and  you  make  up  your  mind 
that  in  neglecting  or  refusing  education  to  you 
and  others  like  you  some  of  the  “foreign  shep- 
herds ” either  do  not  understand  the  problem  of 
winning  China  to  God,  or  their  supporters  at 
home  are  pursuing  a misguided  policy. 

We  would  not  emphasize  the  importance  of 
any  special  class  of  Oriental  society,  but  foreign 
missions  are  not  slum  work.  They  are  not  an 
attempt  to  reach  the  submerged  Oriental  tenth. 
Missions  are  an  effort  to  reach  whole  nations, 
with  all  grades  of  society.  The  Scriptures  give 
the  warrant  to  work  for  the  “most  worthy.” 
The  “most  worthy”  of  the  Chinese  are  being 
reached  by  strong,  active,  attractive  men.  The 
Chinese  government  is  not  in  a position  to  edu- 
cate men  for  Christian  service  in  China;  the 
Church  must  do  it  or  it  will  not  be  done.  The 
task  is  an  enormous  one  for  China  is  one  of  the 
largest,  oldest,  and  most  virile  nations  of  the 


MEN  CHRISTIANS. 


WOMEN  CHRISTIANS. 

SENIOR  STUDENTS  IN  CHINA 


205 


Christian  Colleges 

globe.  Its  government  may  be  decaying  but  its 
people  are  not.  Its  native  Church  is  the  last  to 
be  gathered  among  the  great  peoples.  The  edu- 
cators and  the  money  for  adequate  Christian  edu- 
cation must  largely  come  from  outside  China,  for 
the  present.  The  men  from  Teng  Chou,  North 
China,  St.  John’s,  Foochou,  and  from  other  col- 
leges, have  already  had  a marked  influence  in 
China,  but  the  painful  shortages  in  money  have 
at  times  pinched,  if  not  crippled,  the  work  of 
these  and  other  colleges.  That  policy  which  re- 
fuses to  maintain  its  collegiate  instruction  in  a 
state  of  efficiency  seems  to  have  failed  to  grasp 
the  problem  of  “the  evangelization  of  China.” 
Endowment  is  the  greatest  need  of  the  Christian 
colleges  in  Japan  and  China.  They  are  now  de- 
pendent on  the  ups  and  downs  of  “good  times,” 
and  of  appropriations,  and  have  to  submit  to 
such  curtailments  as  would  ruin  colleges  in  the 
home  land.  Work  that  is  worth  doing  at  all  is 
worth  doing  well,  and  colleges  that  are  worth 
having  at  all  are  worth  making  strong.  But  if  it 
is  worth  while  establishing  the  Church  in  China 
it  is  necessary  to  train  a Christian  ministry. 
With  all  the  stupendous  gifts  for  education  in 
America  is  it  not  strange  that  American  educa- 
tion in  the  East  is  left  to  live  a hand  to  mouth 
existence  ? 

Christian  education  in  China  will  not  be  sup- 
planted by  the  educational  establishments  of  the 
Government.  It  now  exerts  a distinctive  and 
commanding  influence.  What  sort  of  a place  is 


206  The  Influence  of  Christians 

an  Fast-of-the-Ocean  College  ? How  does  it 
differ  from  our  ancient  Confucian  colleges  P are 
ever  recurrent  questions  in  the  minds  of  Chinese 
officials.  The  Christian  college  is  a reply  in 
terms  of  brick  and  mortar,  student  and  teacher, 
laboratory  and  text-book.  It  is  an  answer 
which  carries  conviction,  for  it  is  not  in  terms  of 
theory,  but  a realization  which  satisfies  the  matter- 
of-fact  Chinese  mind.  Christian  colleges,  their 
curricula,  organization,  methods  of  instruction, 
spirit  of  knowledge,  and  aspersion  of  supersti- 
tion are  models  for  the  Chinese  authorities.  In 
every  Liberal  Arts  College  thus  far  started  by  the 
Chinese  Government  the  highest  positions  en- 
trusted to  foreigners  have  been  invariably  offered 
to,  and  urged  upon  missionaries.  The  Chinese 
have  reserved  to  themselves  much  of  the  ad- 
ministrative and  autocratic  power  vested  in  the 
typical  American  College  President,  and  although 
the  title  “ President”  is  used  in  government  col- 
leges, most  of  these  positions  would  be  more  ac- 
curately described  as,  Dean  of  the  Faculty. 

Christian  education  is  destined  to  have  even 
larger  influence  upon  government  colleges,  as  it 
is  the  Government’s  chief  source  of  supply  of 
trained  Chinese  teachers.  Teng  Chou  College 
furnished  thirteen  Chinese  professors,  all  Chris- 
tians, for  the  Imperial  Colleges  in  Peking,  Nan- 
king, and  Shanghai  in  1898.  St.  John’s  College 
provided  Nan  Yang  College  with  three.  The  Wu 
Ch'ang  Christian  High  School  has  given  up  its 
choicest  instructor  to  become  the  head  master  of 


The  Demand  for  Teachers  207 

a government  school  in  Hupei,  and  in  like  man- 
ner provincial  and  local  authorities  are  seeking 
the  services  of  hundreds  of  young  men  trained  in 
Christian  colleges.  Dr.  C.  W.  Mateer  observes 
that  “this  demand  will  continue  and  increase  be- 
yond our  power  to  supply  it.  If  we,  as  educa- 
tors, are  able  to  supply  the  best  teachers  in  the 
market  and  who  are  at  the  same  time  Christian 
men,  we  will  control  China  socially,  politically 
and  religiously.  . . . But  the  special  call  of 

the  hour  is  for  teachers  to  plan  and  mature  the 
new  intellectual  life  that  is  coming  into  China. 
It  is  all  important  that  teachers  be  Christians.  If 
they  are  Christians  they  will  be  an  untold  potency 
on  the  side  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and  may 
by  the  blessing  of  God  turn  the  scale  of  the  na- 
tion’s future.”  It  is  to  this  national  influence  of 
Christian  education  that  special  attention  should 
be  called.  It  is  not  localized  except  in  the  loca- 
tion of  its  plant.  It  is  not  only  a dispenser  of 
knowledge  but  “higher  education  will  simply 
demolish  Chinese  Buddhism  and  Taoism.  Its 
wrestle  will  be  with  Confucianism.  It  may  be 
maintained  that  what  will  be  left  of  Confucian- 
ism in  a man  trained  in  one  of  our  best  Christian 
Colleges  in  China  will  not  be  a fraction  as  hostile 
to  Christianity  or  as  difficult  of  purification  by  it, 
and  absorption  in  it,  as  what  remains  of  Hindu- 
ism in  the  educated  Vedantist  in  India.”1 
Colleges  are  not  the  only  educational  equip- 
ment essential;  primary  and  secondary  schools 

1 Robert  E.  Speer. 


208  Fitting  Schools — Literature 

must  precede  them.  Every  college  in  China  has 
faced  the  problem  of  creating  its  fitting  schools. 
There  have  been  no  native  preparatory  schools. 
Although  this  complicates  the  problem,  yet  the 
educator  is  repaid  for  his  long  labor,  believing  of 
the  Chinese  as  Samuel  Johnson  did  of  the  Scotch 
that,  “Much  may  be  made  of  a Scotchman  if  he 
be  caught  young.” 

Modern  civilization  in  China  has  not  yet  de- 
veloped an  agnostic  element.  In  Japan,  as  in 
India,  there  is  need  of  proofs,  reasons  and  refu- 
tations, and  an  increasing  demand  for  apologetic 
literature. 

But  quite  aside  from  dogmatics  and  apolo- 
getics Christian  literature  is  a tremendous  power 
especially  in  such  a country  of  books  as  China 
and  among  the  educated  classes.  No  work  has 
yet  been  done  for  the  literati,  which  compares  to 
that  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian 
and  General  Knowledge  whose  headquarters  are 
in  Shanghai.  The  reform  movement  is  largely 
due  to  the  work  of  this  Society;  the  aroused 
minds  of  the  mandarins  are  accounted  for  by  the 
way  in  which  it  has  followed  up  the  awakening 
shocks  of  war.  Its  books  and  magazines  steal  in 
upon  the  time  and  mind  of  the  “fathers  and 
mothers  of  the  people,”  as  the  officials  are  called, 
and  capture  them  unawares.  Books  as  reformers 
lack  the  personal  element  which  must  also  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  literary  classes,  but 
books  mould  public  opinion.  The  half-dozen 
men  who  are  giving  their  time  to  translating 


Professorships  209 

Christian  literature  should  be  multiplied  by 
twenty.  They  must  be  men  who  have  lived 
long  in  China,  and  who  are  masters  of  her  lan- 
guage and  familiar  with  her  needs. 

The  unique  influence  of  foreigners  on  the  edu- 
cational system  of  India  is  scarcely  a fitting  com- 
parison, for  no  other  great  Eastern  nation  is  under 
the  domination  of  the  white  race.  But  Japan, 
ruled  by  Japanese,  owes  the  inception  and  or- 
ganization of  her  educational  system  to  foreign- 
ers. Dr.  Verbeck  and  others  have  builded  broad 
and  high.  In  China,  Korea,  Siam  and  the  Phil- 
ippines, there  are  and  will  be  hundreds  of  pro- 
fessorships open  to  Americans  and  Englishmen; 
in  1901,  700  American  teachers  went  to  the  Phil- 
ippines. With  the  exception  of  those  Islands 
the  presidents  of  these  colleges  should  be  chosen 
from  foreigners  on  the  field  and  familiar  with 
the  native  tongues.  Such  foreigners  will  be 
found,  for  the  most  part,  in  mission  service. 
The  number  of  missionaries  who  are  education- 
ally and  linguistically  qualified  for  such  positions 
is  much  greater  than  the  number  of  those  from 
customs  and  consular  services  combined.  These 
college  positions  often  carry  with  them  large  ac- 
quaintance and  much  influence  with  officials  in 
shaping  government  policy.  The  foreigner’s 
chief  limitation  is  in  regard  to  the  propagation  of 
Christian  truth,  which  the  native  authorities, 
especially  in  China,  look  upon  with  pronounced 
disapproval. 

In  1902  the  Government  of  Shan  Tung,  acting 


210  Worship  of  Confucius 

upon  “ instructions  from  above,”  went  so  far  in 
its  rules  and  regulations  as  to  require  all  students 
in  government  colleges  to  worship  Confucius  on 
the  first  and  fifteenth  of  each  month,  in  public 
assembly,  and  that  all  students  who  refused 
thrice  in  succession  should  be  expelled.  This 
was  in  direct  violation  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin, 
and  of  repeated  edicts,  and  had  it  been  allowed 
to  stand  uncontested  it  would  have  excluded 
every  Christian  from  these  colleges.  It  has  been 
the  custom  from  the  first  in  government  col- 
leges in  China  to  have  the  Tablet  of  Confucius 
conspicuously  present,  and  to  have  regular  wor- 
ship days  when  all  who  were  not  Christians 
kotowed.  Corresponding  Christian  services  for 
Christians  were  not  allowed  however  in  Govern- 
ment institutions.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  Manchu 
rulers  of  China  by  exalting  and  emphasizing 
Confucianism,  not  only  ethical  but  political  Con- 
fucianism, to  cement  their  hold  upon  the  subject 
people.  Religious  toleration  will  not  be  estab- 
lished without  a protracted  struggle. 

In  addition  to  the  presidencies  of  these  institu- 
tions there  are  many  professorships  open  to 
young  men  who  come  out  under  contract  to 
remain  a term  of  years,  and  who  may  begin 
work  without  a knowledge  of  the  native  tongue. 
The  trend  of  scientific  teaching  will  largely  de- 
pend upon  these  men.  If  they  are  free  or  care- 
less thinkers  modern  education  may  be  pitted 
against  the  native  Church  and  become  one  of  its 
strongest  opponents.  The  opportunity  has  been 


College  Christian  Association  211 

partially  met  in  Japan  by  the  College  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association,  which  has  secured 
at  several  junctures,  for  the  Government,  the 
services  of  well  qualified,  Christian  professors 
who  came  to  Japan  for  this  special  purpose.  A 
greater  door  is  being  slowly  opened  in  China 
and  Korea.  The  question  is  raised  whether  the 
Student  Volunteer  Movement,  or  the  College 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  should  not 
act  as  an  intermediary  between  the  qualified  men 
at  home  and  these  opportunities  in  the  East. 
The  teachers  who  are  needed  are  not  those  who 
are  unable  to  secure  positions  at  home;  the  mind 
of  the  Far  East  is  not  a dumping  ground  for  use- 
less material.  They  should  be  men  of  thorough 
training  and  of  real  Christian  faith. 

A score  of  years  ago  the  problem  of  reaching 
the  students  of  Britain  and  America  for  Christ 
was  most  difficult.  No  permanent  policy  was 
forthcoming  until  the  College  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  gripped  the  situation.  In 
the  United  States  and  Canada  it  has  bound  to- 
gether for  aggressive  Christian  work  thousands 
of  students  and  professors  in  over  600  institutions 
of  higher  learning,  and  similar  Movements  are 
operating  in  the  British  and  Continental  univer- 
sities. To  this  organization  has  been  given  the 
direction  on  interdenominational  lines  of  the  vol- 
untary religious  activity  of  the  student  world. 
Mr.  John  R.  Mott,  M.  A.,  observes  that,  “More 
than  30,000  students  have  been  led,  through  the 
work  of  the  Associations,  to  become  the  disciples 


212  College  Christian  Association 

of  Christ.  . . . Moreover,  nearly  5,000 

young  men,  representing  some  forty  different 
branches  of  the  Church,  have  been  influenced  to 
become  clergymen,  and  even  a larger  number  of 
students  have  been  led  to  dedicate  their  lives  to 
foreign  missions,  through  the  influence  of  the 
Student  Volunteer  Movement.” 

It  was  to  represent  this  spiritual  force  among 
college  men  that  Mr.  Mott  visited  the  student 
centres  of  the  Orient  in  1895-1897,  and  in  1901— 
1902,  and  brought  the  students  of  Japan  and 
China  into  vital  relations  with  the  students  of  the 
West.  Groups  of  Christian  men  scattered  all 
over  Eastern  Asia,  are  banded  together  in  Asso- 
ciations with  similar  principles,  but  with  adapted 
methods,  to  those  in  Britain  and  America.  These 
men  are  not  organized  to  promote  dependence 
upon  the  white  race  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
yellow,  but  to  set  to  work  the  educated  men  of 
Asia,  in  the  field  of  Asia,  for  the  redemption  of 
Asia.  To  a National  Convention  of  Chinese  stu- 
dents held  at  Nanking,  after  the  Boxer  uprising, 
the  Christian  students  of  Japan  sent  a personal 
representative  with  the  challenge:  “Asia  for 
God!”  This  message  and  its  meaning  was  one 
of  the  most  impressive  and  prophetic  in  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity  in  the  East.  In  response  to 
united  and  unqualified  petitions  from  the  mis- 
sionaries, business  men  and  native  leaders,  the  In- 
ternational Committee  is  not  only  establishing 
Associations  in  the  commercial  capitals  and  col- 
legiate centres  of  China,  but  has  begun  the  first 


Confucius’  Vain  Hope  213 

systematic  effort  to  reach  the  960,000  literati  of 
the  Empire. 

The  Church  of  Christ  must  not  shirk  its  duty 
to  the  students  of  the  East.  The  literature  that 
moulds,  the  teachers  who  instruct,  and  the  prin- 
ciples that  edify  cannot  be  withheld.  If  the  na- 
tive States  and  the  Church  do  their  part  the  Asian 
students  will  with  Sophocles  not  only  “see  life 
steadily  and  see  it  whole,"  but  will  go  further 
than  Sophocles  and  make  good  Confucius’  vain 
hope  that  “perfect  knowledge”  would  be  fol- 
lowed “by  the  choice  of  what  is  good.” 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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Chinese  Repository,  The. 

Chinese  Stories,  Robert  K.  Douglas. 

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Christianity  and  Confucianism  Compared,  James  Legge. 
Confucian  Cosmogony,  Dean  McClatchie. 

Confucianism  and  Taoism,  Robert  K.  Douglas. 

Cycle  of  Cathay,  W.  A.  P.  Martin. 

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Emperor  Kuang  Hsu’s  Edicts  on  Educational  Matters. 
Encyclopedia  of  Missions,  E.  M.  Bliss. 

Family  Law  of  the  Chinese,  P.  G.  Von  MollendorfF. 
Fukuzawa,  Article  in  the  Contemporary  Review  on  Neesima. 
Future  Education  of  China,  The,  Wang  Chung  Yu. 

General  Regulations  of  Normal  Schools,  Government  Publi- 
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General  Regulations  Relating  to  Local  Education,  Govern- 
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Government  Education  Report,  Japan,  1885. 

Government  Education  Report,  Japan,  1890. 

Government  Education  Report,  Japan,  1895. 

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Government  Education  Report,  Japan,  1900. 

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Great  Learning  for  Women,  The,  Quoted  in  Things  Jap- 
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217 


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Han  Lin  Papers,  W.  A.  P.  Martin. 

History  of  Civilization,  M.  Guizot. 

History  of  Japan,  F.  C.  Adams. 

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Hongkong  Educational  Report. 

Hundred  Years  of  Missions,  A.  Leonard. 

Imperial  Ordinances,  numbers,  3,  7,  9,  11,  12,  13,  14, 16,  17, 

35-  93- 

Imperial  Ordinances,  pp.  151-153. 

Ibuka,  K.,  Address,  Northfield,  Mass.,  1897. 

Independent,  The,  March  17,  1898. 

Independent,  The,  May  12,  1898. 

Independent,  The,  July  21,  1898. 

Intercourse  of  United  States  and  Japan,  Inago  Nitobe. 
Japanese  Codes  of  Education,  1872,  1879,  Government. 
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Japan  Weekly  Mail,  October  10,  1891. 

Japan  Weekly  Mail,  November  7,  1891, 

Japan  Weekly  Mail,  Vol.  15,  pp.  33,  57,  61,  180,  181,  279, 

3°3>  47°.  54L  572. 

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Kokumin  no  Tomo,  The,  1898. 

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Life  of  Neesima,  Davis. 

Life  of  Sir  Harry  Parks. 

Life  of  Yoshida  Shonin. 

Lord  Elgin’s  Mission  to  China  and  Japan,  Oliphant. 

Matthew  Calbrath  Perry,  W.  E.  Griffis. 

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APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  NO.  I 


Foreigners  in  the  Institutions  of  the  Department  of 

Education 

Country. 

in  Japan. 

*895. 

l89b. 

1898. 

j 900 . 

Great  Britain, 

9 

IO 

15 

11 

Germany, 

8 

II 

14 

19 

United  States, 

6 

2 

3 

12 

France, 

3 

3 

5 

6 

Russia, 

1 

1 

2 

3 

Belgium, 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Italy, 

1 

1 

1 

2 

Switzerland, 

1 

1 

1 

2 

Spain, 

0 

0 

1 

1 

China, 

1 

1 

2 

4 

Korea, 

0 

0 

2 

3 

_ 

— 

— 

— 

Totals, 

31 

31 

47 

64 

They  received  the  annual  salary  of  yen  103,020,  or  an  aver- 
age of  yen  3,323  each,  in  1896;  and  in  1900,  yen  218,820,  or 
an  average  of  yen  3,418.10  each. 


223 


224  Appendix 


TABLE  NO.  2 


Foreign  Instructors  in 

Government,  Public  and  Private  Institu- 

Country. 

tions  in  Japan. 
Men.  IV omen. 

Totals. 

i8<pj. 

i8q8. 

1895.  1898. 

1895.  1898.  1900.* 

United  States, 

73 

62 

59 

58 

132 

120 

Great  Britain, 

36 

55 

24 

23 

60 

78 

France, 

29 

29 

17 

*3 

46 

42 

Germany, 

12 

l6 

O 

O 

12 

16 

Korea, 

7 

3 

O 

O 

7 

3 

Switzerland, 

3 

I 

O 

O 

3 

1 

China, 

3 

3 

O 

O 

3 

3 

Russia, 

I 

4 

I 

O 

2 

4 

Italy, 

2 

I 

O 

O 

2 

I 

Belgium, 

I 

I 

O 

O 

1 

I 

Spain, 

O 

I 

O 

O 

O 

I 

Totals 

167 

176 

IOI 

94 

268 

27O 

TABLE  NO. 

3 

Higher  Female 

Schools  in 

Japan 

No.  Schools. 

No.  Teachers. 

No.  Students. 

Government. 

Private. 

Total. 

Men. 

Women. 

Foreigners. 

Total. 

1885 

9 

? 

9 

22 

5° 

? 

72 

616 

1890 

8 

22 

30 

139 

!53 

19 

31 1 

3.”5 

1895 

8 

6 

14 

82 

92 

O 

174 

2.575 

1898 

25 

8 

33 

»25 

264 

? 

389 

8,166 

I9OO 

44 

7 

51 

220 

419 

— 

639 

11,679 

1898.  Total  Expenditure,  yen,  122,116. 
1900.  Total  Expenditure,  yen,  816,954. 


* In  the  Government  report,  in  Japanese,  from  which  all 
statistics  for  1900  in  this  volume  have  been  translated,  there  is 
no  tabulated  list  by  nationalities  for  1 900,  but,  instead,  one  by 
schools.  According  to  this  authority  there  were  477  foreigners, 
all  told,  teaching  in  Japan,  of  whom  342  were  in  miscellaneous 
schools,  many  of  which  are  missionary. 


Special  schools  are  designed  as  institutions  in  which  special  instruction  is  given  in  such  subjects  of  study  as  medicine, 


Appendix 


225 


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P ^ 

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p 


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3 2 


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3 3 
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p - 


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S S.g 

I 

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10 

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1,261 

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Vn  Vn  4k  vO  •— 

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to 

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TABLE  NO. 


226 


Appendix 


Population. 

1885 

38,458,000 

1890 

41,322,005 

1895 

43.045.906 

1896 

43.499.833 

1898 

1900 

46,561,133 

TABLE  NO.  5 
School  Attendance 
School  Population. 
6,413,684 
7,195,412 
7,083,148 
7,187,059 
7,125,966 
7,408,179 


School  Attendance. 
3,182,232 

3»52°.7l8 
4,338,069 
4,615,842 
4,910,380 
5,321,726 


TABLE  NO.  6 
Normal  School  Status 


1885. 

i8go. 

i8gp. 

i8gb. 

i8g8. 

igoo. 

No.  Normal  schools, 

57 

47 

47 

47 

47 

52 

“ Male  Teachers, 

683 

579 

633 

648 

712 

891 

“ Female  Teachers, 

58 

45 

45 

44 

48 

61 

“ Male  Pupils, 

6,702  i 

3,410 

5.398  5 

,609 

6,169 

10,586 

“ Female  Pupils, 

1,005 

885 

720 

738 

857 

1,476 

Expenditure,  yen,  551,195.10,  800,307.19,  816,366,  942,598, 
1,855,625. 

Beside  the  above  schools,  it  is  to  be  noted  that,  in  1890,  a 
“ higher  female  normal  school,”  and  a “ higher  normal  school  ” 
were  established  in  Tokio. 


TABLE  NO.  7 

Comparative  Number  of  Teachers  in  Public  Elementary 
Schools  with  Regard  to  their  Ages,  on  a Given 
Year  (not  Counting  Private  Schools). 

Total  Number 

Graduates  of  Those  Otherwise  of  Teachers 
Normal  Schools.  Licensed.  in  Public 
Ages.  Elementary  Schools. 


Under  20 

163 

1.877 

2,040 

Between  20  and  25 

3.776 

7.645 

11,421 

Between  25  and  30 

5, 120 

11,918 

17.038 

Between  30  and  35 

4,445 

8,732 

i3,U7 

Between  35  and  40 

1,980 

4.375 

6,355 

Between  40  and  45 

931 

3,058 

3,989 

Between  45  and  50 

380 

1,765 

2,145 

Between  50  and  55 

130 

1,050 

1,180 

Between  55  and  60 

51 

5*5 

566 

60  and  upwards. 

20 

325 

345 

Grand  total 

16,996 

41,260 

58,256 

Appendix  227 

TABLE  NO.  8 

A Table  Showing  Efficiency  of  Normal  Schools  in  Qualifying 
Teachers.  Number  of  Applicants,  and  of  those  who 
passed  the  Prescribed  Tests  for  Licenses  as 
Elementary  School  Teachers,  Con- 
ducted by  Local  Authori- 


Regular  Teachers, 

ties  (1896). 

No.  of  Applicants. 

No.  of  those  who 
passed  the  Pre- 
scribed Tests. 

For  general  subjects  in 
Elementary  Schools. 

( 2,842 
l *2,075 

J L855 
j *2,068 

For  general  subjects  in 
ordinary  Elementary 
Schools. 

/ 9.555 

l*  130 

/ 5,362 

l*  130 

For  special  subjects  in 
Elementary  Schools. 

878 

565 

Total 

f 13.275 
\ *2,205 

f 7,782 
1*2,198 

Assistant  Teachers. 

For  general  subjects  in 
Elementary  Schools. 

/ 1.409 

l * 44 

/ 753 

l * 44 

For  general  subjects  in 
ordinary  Elementary 
Schools. 

j 11,243 
1 * >5 

f 4,98i 
l * 15 

For  special  subjects  in 
Elementary  Schools. 

1,678 

1,023 

Total 

/ 14,330 
l * 59 

/ 6,757 
t * 59 

Grand  total  ( 27,605 

* Normal  Graduates.  \ *2,264 

f 14,539 

t *2,257 

228  Appendix 

TABLE  NO.  9 


The  Curriculum  of  an  Ordinary  Middle  School  Includes 
the  Following  Subjects  and  Hours. 


Subject. 

Time. 

i.  Ethics 

1 hour  per  week  for  4 years. 

2.  Japanese  Language  and  Chi- 

nese  Literature 

5 “ 

it 

it  li 

•*.  First  Foreign  Language 

(English) 

5 t0  7 

(( 

ft  li 

4.  Second  Foreign  Language, 

(German  or  French)  . . 

3 t0  4 

“ 

last  2 “ 

5.  Geography  of  the  World.  . 

6.  History,  Japanese  and  For- 

1 to  2 

a 

4 “ 

eign 

1 to  2 

a 

II  II 

7.  Mathematics:  Geometry,  Re- 

view  Arithmetic,  Algebra, 
etc.,  Advanced  Algebra, 

4 

ti 

3 " 

Trigonometry,  etc 

8.  Natural  History  : J 

3 

u 

1 year. 

Physiology,  Hygiene,  V 
Zoology,  Botany,  J 

1 to  3 

a 

3 years. 

9.  Physics,  Chemistry  .... 

I 

ft 

2d  year. 

2 

u 

3d  « 

and  Electricity 

3 

u 

4th  “ 

IO.  Writing 

2 

ft 

1st  “ 

I 

u 

2d  “ 

11.  Drawing 

2 

ft 

3 years. 

I 

ft 

1 year. 

12.  Singing 

2 

<< 

2 years. 

13.  Gymnastics 

3 to  S 

tt 

4 “ 

Appendix  229 

TABLE  NO.  10 

Status  of  Ordinary  Middle  Schools 

From  various  official  reports  the  following  classified  sum- 
mary is  made  : 


No.  of  Schools. 

No.  of  Teachers. 

No.  of  Pupils. 

.V> 

•^4 

.V4 

Vi 

•v* 

.Vj 

* 

$ 

£ 

* 

£ 

$ 

$ 

£ 

1885,  105 

2 

IO7 

1.0301 

20 

1,040 

14,747 

301 

15,048 

1890,  44 

II 

55 

580 

98 

678 

9,982 

1,638 

1 1,620 

1896,  99 

21 

120 

1.367 

342 

I.7I9 

33.915 

6,662 

40,577 

1898,  105 

3° 

x35 

2,066 

3J3 

2-579 

49,760 

11,679 

6i,457 

1900,  159 

34 

i93 

3.067 

659 

3.726 

64,05 1 

13.943 

77,994 

1898.  Total  Expenditure,  yen,  2,071,660. 
1900.  “ “ “ 3,907,801. 


TABLE  NO.  11 
Statistics  of  Higher  Schools 


Year. 

No. 

Schools. 

No.  Professors. 

Students. 

Expenditure. 

Japanese.  Foreign. 

1890 

7 

320 

15 

4,356 

(Yen)433, 757.83 

1895 

7 

264 

I I 

4,289 

264,901.00 

1896 

6 

277 

12 

4,231 

372,978.00 

1898 

6 

336 

x5 

4,664 

469,630.00 

1900 

7 

324 

21 

5,684 

593,542.00 

230  Appendix 


TABLE  NO.  12 
Students  Tokio  University 


College. 

Students 

1885. 

Students 

1890. 

Students 

/89s. 

Students 

1896. 

Students 

1898. 

Students 

igoo. 

University  Hall, 

O 

47 

io5 

146 

253 

43° 

Law, 

217 

301 

47  2 

551 

856 

891 

Science, 

43 

77 

102 

I°5 

IOI 

65 

Engineering, 

3° 

106 

295 

345 

37° 

405 

Medicine, 

726 

188 

178 

223 

394 

491 

Literature, 

129 

88 

219 

248 

281 

310 

Agriculture, 

O 

485 

249 

215 

208 

288 

Elective, 

73 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

Totals, 

1,218 

i.312 

1,620 

L833 

2,463 

2,880 

1898.  Total  Expenditure,  yen,  791,072. 
1900.  Total  Expenditure,  yen,  949,229. 


TABLE  NO.  13 

Per  cent,  of  Graduates  from  Various  Colleges  of  the  Tokio 
University  in  Various  Years 


1894. 

1895. 

189b. 

1897. 

1898. 

Average. 

Law, 

35 

38 

3i 

24 

3° 

31 

Medicine, 

IO 

11 

9 

10 

9 

10 

Engineering, 

19 

21 

26 

28 

3i 

26 

Literature, 

IO 

11 

16 

22 

18 

16 

Science, 

6 

8 

6 

10 

7 

7 

Agriculture, 

20 

11 

12 

6 

4 

10 

Totals, 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

TABLE  NO.  14 

Technical  Schools  of  the  Lower  Grade 

No.  Schools.  No.  Professors.  No.  Students. 


Agriculture, 

10 

64 

578 

Simple  Agriculture, 

27 

117 

1,781 

Industry, 

7 

90 

1,624 

Commerce, 

11 

125 

2,917 

Simple  Commerce, 

5 

28 

704 

Totals, 

60 

424 

7,604 

INDEX 


Index 


Adams,  History  of  Japan  by,  cited,  20,  22 
Agricultural  education  : college  of  the  university,  88-90 

Advanced  study  in,  expenditure,  number  of  students, 
practical  farmers,  89 

Elementary  courses,  in  elementary,  secondary,  and 
special  schools,  64,  79,  80,  89 
First  College  of  Agriculture,  30,  76 
Great  importance  of,  88. 

Sapporo  College,  courses,  estates,  fees,  library,  stu- 
dents, 89 

Aim  of  education  in  China,  114,  115,  189 
Albreaht,  Surgeon,  referred  to,  35 
America:  education  from,  in  Japan,  26-31 
Chinese  students  go  to,  176 
Diplomacy  of,  25,  26 
First  envoy  from,  25,  26 
Influence  on  Japan,  29,  30 
Japanese  graduates  of  universities,  31 
Japanese  students  go  to,  27 
Opened  Japan,  25 
Teachers  from,  30,  31 
Tutorship  of,  Seward’s  Advice,  29 
American  Educational  Report,  see  United  States  Educational 
Reports 

Analects,  Confucian,  quoted,  145,  146 
Anderson,  Dr.,  referred  to,  35 
Argument  Philosophique,  Pauthier,  referred  to,  144 
Art  of  government,  the,  as  a study,  1 1 5 

Asia  for  God,  watchword  of  Japanese  to  Chinese  students,  212 

Bacon,  Miss,  book  referred  to,  50 

Baelz,  Dr.,  referred  to,  35 

Baines,  J.  A.,  cited,  70 

Balance  Wheel  of  State,  in  China,  1 17 

Baron  Ishiguro,  cited,  32 

Benkema,  Dr.,  referred  to,  35 

Berresford,  Lord  Charles,  referred  to,  190,  19 1 

Berry,  Dr.  J.  C.,  referred  to,  36 

233 


234 


Index 


Bible  and  Sutras  influence  on  language,  18 
Biott,  Mon.  E.,  quoted,  95,  96,  97. 

Bird,  Miss  I.  L.,  quoted,  40,  65,  84 
Bishop,  Mrs.  I.  L.  B.,  see  “ Bird  ” 

Book  garden,  Vang  Ming’s,  109 
Boston  City  Hospital,  superintendent,  30 
Boxer  Uprising,  and  Peking  University,  178 
Tientsin  University,  178 
Christian  Peking  University,  172 
Students  abroad,  Chinese,  176,  183,  184 
Japanese,  27 

Bowdin,  Dr.,  referred  to,  36 
Brown,  Dr.,  referred  to,  32 
Brown,  McLeavy,  Korea,  191 
Browning,  quoted,  157 
Buddhism  : Adaptability  of,  18 
Education  of  women,  44 
Hold  on  educated,  51,  52 
Influence  of,  17,  18,  19 
Priesthood  reproved,  52 
Priests  as  teachers  in  Japan,  18,  22 
Sutras,  18 
Temples,  18,  19 

Bureau  of  School  Affairs,  described,  42,  43 


Cabinet,  educational  outline,  42,  43 

Capron,  General  Horace,  founder  Agricultural  College,  30 

Carrothers,  Mrs.,  referred  to,  46 

Chamberlain,  Basil,  cited,  see  Things  Japanese,  19,  50,  52,  54 

Chancellors,  see  Literary 

Chang  Chih  Tung,  Viceroy,  159,  160,  177 

Changes,  Book  of,  147,  148 

Ch'ao  K'ao  Examinations,  103 

China:  study  in,  a vocation,  95,  see  Examinations,  Educa- 
tional System 

Modem  state  education  of,  176-185 
Number  of  students,  100,  101 
Typical  literary  centre,  108-114 
China  in  convulsion,  quoted,  137 
Chinaman,  the  real,  cited,  104 
China’s  only  hope,  quoted,  160 

China  Merchant’s  Steam  Navigation  Company  and  education, 
162 

Chinese  classics,  144-149 
Commentaries,  150 
In  Japan,  19,  20 


Index 


235 


Chinese  Empire,  the,  cited,  104 
Chinese  literature,  quoted  from,  143 
Chinese  repository,  cited,  95 
Chin  Shih  degree,  see  Degrees 
Christian  Education,  171,  172,  173,  200-213 
Higher  colleges  needed,  200 
Literature,  immense  possibilities,  208,  209 
The  government  of  China,  205,  206,  207 
Student’s  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  influence 
of,  57,  201,  202,  21 1,  212 

Professors  Christian,  importance  in  government  colleges, 
193,  194,  206,  207 

Christian  students  and  worship  of  Confucius,  210 
Christianity  and  Education,  56-62,  200-213 
Chii  Fu  Tzu,  see  Chii  Hsi 
Chu  Hsi,  worshipped,  108,  123,  125,  126,  150 
Chii  Jen,  degree  of,  see  Degrees 
Ch'un  Ch'iu,  spring  and  autumn  annals,  149,  150 
Church  and  State  in  Education,  58,  59,  60,  200-213 
Church,  obligation  of  the  : to  education  in  China,  203-207 
To  education  in  Japan,  201-203 
Literature,  to  create,  208,  209 

Civil  Service  Examinations,  see  Examinations,  Educational 
System 

Clark,  Dr.  William  S.,  referred  to,  30 
Classical  ideals  of  scholarship,  129-136 

Classics,  The  Chinese,  see  Confucian  Curriculum,  Chinese 
Classics 

Colleges:  Chinese  American  influence,  171-176 
Ancient  Chinese,  98 
Christian,  171-185 

Influence  of  colleges  at  Tengchow,  Nanking,  Peking, 
Shanghai,  Foochow,  Amoy,  Wuchang,  172 
Educators,  Chinese,  193,  194 
Foreign,  173 

Graduates  officially  recognized,  183,  184 

Government,  176-185 

Queen’s,  Hongkong,  1 7 3— 175 

Rise  of  modern,  171-185 

The  White  Deer,  122-128 

Uncivil  professor,  an,  126,  127 

Tung  Wen,  176 

Wuchang  colleges,  176,  177 

Japanese,  Agricultural,  30,  64,  76,  79,  80,  89,  90 

Doshisha,  first  Christian,  32,  33 

Dutch  Reformed,  27 


Index 


236 

Colleges,  Kobe  Girls’  College,  46,  see  Higher  schools,  Medical 
education.  Normal  schools,  Technical  schools,  Uni- 
versities 

Commentaries,  Confucian,  150 
Compulsory  education,  law,  64,  65 
Confucian  education:  historical  outlines  of,  95-107 
Culture  and,  1 52-155 
Aim,  114,  115,  189 

Classical  ideals  of  scholarship,  129-136 
Balance  Wheel  of  State,  1 1 7 
Curriculum,  144-156 
Political  force,  a,  115-121 
White  Deer  College,  typical,  122-128 
The  Sage  as  a Teacher,  133,  134,  see  Examinations, 
Educational  System 
Confucianism : books  burned,  96 

Education  of  women,  20,  44,  95,  141-143,  197 
Influence  of,  19-21 
Originality  in,  19 
Philosophy  of,  20,  21 
Polygamy  and,  14 1,  142 
Confucianism  and  Taoism:  cited,  20 
Conflict  of,  96,  97 
Confucius:  Aristotle  of  Asia,  19 
As  a teacher,  133,  134 

Quoted,  20,  129,  130,  131,  132,  133,  138,  139,  140,  141, 
142,  145,  146,  147,  149 
Digest  of  the  doctrines  of,  cited,  19,  138 
Historical  standing  of,  21 
Master  of  Japan,  18 

Responsible  for  degradation  of  women,  141,  142 
Worshipped,  95,  125,  126,  210 
Conquest  of  rational  history,  physics,  etc.,  19 
Contents,  Table  of,  13,  14 
Copyright  and  patent  privileges,  China,  162 
Cornell  graduates  at  Wu  Chang,  177 
Count  Inoye,  interview  with,  53 
Curriculum,  Confucian,  144-156 
Curtis,  W.  E.,  cited,  see  Yankees  of  the  East 
Cycle  of  Cathay,  cited,  116 


Diffusion  of  education  in  Japan,  the  Emperor’s  statement,  16 
Daimios  and  schools,  21,  22 
Degrees : Chinese,  origin  of,  97,  100-103 
Japanese,  University,  81,  82 
Description  of  an  examination,  110-112 


Index 


237 

Digest  of  the  doctrines  of  Confucius,  Faber,  cited,  19,  138 

Disestablishment  of  Buddhism,  referred  to,  17 

Doctrine  of  the  mean,  145 

Doshisha  College,  32,  33 

Douglas,  Confucianism  and  Taoism,  cited,  20 

Drunkenness  in  England,  53. 

Duncan,  Mr.  Moir,  president,  182 
Dutch  and  education  in  Japan,  25 
Dutch  Reformed  colleges  in  America,  27 


Edicts  reforming  education,  Chinese,  160-164,  166-170 
Editorial  support  of  reform  in  China,  165 
Educational  code  promulgated,  28,  40 
Education  and  morals,  53-61,  137-143 
Educational  problems : 189-199 

Aim  of  education,  114,  115,  189 
Cooperation  of  government,  191,  192 
Education  of  women,  197,  198 
Free  tuition,  194,  195 
Native  teachers,  67-69,  193,  194 
Text-books,  195,  196 

Educational  System : China,  see  Examinations,  Confucianism, 
Literary  Chancellor 
Earning  power  of  education,  157 
Modern  colleges,  the  rise  of,  1 71- 185 
No  education  for  women,  95 
Number  of  examination  students,  100,  ioi 
Confucian  Curriculum,  144-156 
Obligation  of  the  Church,  200-213 
Political  force,  a,  115-121 
Primary,  theory  of,  104 
Reform  of  examination  system,  157-169 
Rungs  in  the  ladder,  102,  103 
Supervision,  105-107 

Teachers  and  methods,  133,  134,  193,  194,  206,  207 
Students  abroad,  183,  184 
Typical  literary  centre,  108-114 

Hongkong,  number  and  nature  of  schools,  nationality  of 
students,  English  examinations,  criticisms,  173-175, 
197 

Japan,  advancement  of  women,  44-50 
American  influence  in,  26-31 
Government  control,  40-43 
Before  Meij  Era,  17-23 
Christianity  and,  56-62,  200-203 
Code  promulgated,  40 


Index 


238 

Educational  system:  comparative  names  of  grades,  41 
Degrees,  81,  82 
Minister,  42,  43 
Expenditure,  42 

Financial  responsibility  of  government,  41,  42,  80 
Foreign  educators,  29-39 
Hollanders  and,  25 
Declared  its  independence,  38 
Japanese  Mail  on,  38 
Obligation  of  Church,  201-203 
Official  adviser,  31,  32 
Sources  of  new  education,  29-39 
Strong  hand  of  supervision,  43 
Eldridge,  Dr.  S.,  referred  to,  36 
Elgin,  Lord,  and  Envoy  Harris,  25,  26,  27 
Narrative  of  visit,  cited,  26 
Elementary  education,  see  Elementary  Schools 
Elementary  schools  : Chinese,  103,  104 
Studies  in,  151,  152 

Japanese,  American  and  German  influence,  63 
Attendance,  boys  or  girls,  54-56 
Attitude  of  the  people  towards,  65 
Comparison  with  the  United  States,  70 
Curriculum,  67 

Elementary  education,  Japan,  Germany,  England, 
France,  India,  and  United  States  compared,  70 
Grades  in,  63 

No  corporal  punishment,  67 
Reasons  for  non-attendance,  65 
School  age,  64 
School  attendance,  64 
Subjects  taught,  67 
Taxes,  fees,  and  gifts  compared,  66 
Teachers  and  Normal  Schools,  see  Normal  Schools 
Voluntary  gifts,  65,  66,  see  appendix  table  5 
Emerens,  Dr.,  referred  to,  36 
Emperor : of  China,  Son  of  heaven,  20 
Kwang  Hsu,  quoted,  160-163 
Of  Japan,  proclamation  of,  28,  40 
Education  of  woman,  quoted,  45 
Imperial  rescript  of,  54-56 

Empress  Dowager,  the,  as  an  educational  reformer,  1 66,  167, 
179-181,  183,  184 
Empress  Haruku,  referred  to,  46 
England,  attempts  to  negotiate  with  Japan,  25,  26 
Free  schools,  66,  67 
Copy  Japan’s  technical  schools,  84 


Index 


239 


Enumeration  of  surnames,  the,  as  a study,  15 1 
Europe,  and  the  American  treaty,  25,  26 
Evington,  Bishop,  cited,  54 

Examinations : civil  service,  an  examination  described,  108- 
H4 

Extent,  98-101 

Literary  chancellors,  105,  106,  113,  114 

Metamorphosis  of,  15  7- 170 

Number  of  students,  100,  101 

Origin,  see  chapter  on  outlines  of  ancient  system 

Official  recognition  of  graduates  of  colleges,  1 81,  182 

Opposition  to  reform  in,  185 

Patriotism  of  students,  119,  120 

Peking  the  centre,  98,  99 

Results  of,  1 20 

Reform  of,  15  7- 170 

Recitations  unknown,  103 

Rungs  in  ladder,  102,  103 

Supervision,  103,  106 

Rites,  board  of,  issues  new  rules,  168 

Scientific  subjects,  effect  of,  158,  196. 

Examination  halls,  see  chapters  II  and  12,  number  of  halls, 
101 

Faber’s  Systematical  Digest  of  the  Doctrines  of  Confucius, 
cited,  19,  138 

Faber’s  Commentary  on  the  Classics,  referred  to,  126 
Faulds,  Dr.,  referred  to,  36 
Ferguson,  Pres.  John  C.,  referred  to,  173,  179 
Ferris  Seminary,  founded,  46 
Foreign  professors  in  Japan,  29-39 
And  appendix  tables  1,  2 
Formulative  Forces,  chapter  on,  24-28 
“ Four  Books,”  the,  144 

Free  education,  and  Nanyang  College,  194,  195 
Fukusawa : President,  influence  of,  33,  34 
Opinion  of  Neesima,  33 
Feng  Fu  and  the  Tiger,  130,  131 


Germany  : influence  of,  32-37,  69,  70,  74 
Medical  science,  35,  36 
Pharmacopaeia  from,  36,  37 
Government  education  of  Japanese  women,  44-50 
Government  education  in  China,  95-213 
Great  Learning:  the,  19,  131— 133,  144 
For  women,  quoted,  44 


240  Index 

Griffis,  Dr.  W.  E. : cited  in  Mikado’s  Empire,  18 
In  religions  of  Japan,  18,  20 
In  Townsend  Harris,  26 

Hall  of  Fame,  Chinese,  99 
Hanlin  Academy  : The,  98 

Examinations,  103,  107 
Addressed  by  Emperor,  143 
Hanlin  papers.  Dr.  Martin,  cited,  115 
Oppose  reform,  185 
Hardy’s  Life  ofNeesima,  cited,  33 
Harris,  Hon.  Townsend,  cited,  26 
Hawks,  F.  L.,  referred  to,  25 

Hayes,  Dr.  W.  M.,  president  Government  College,  179,  180 
Heavenly  Tower,  the,  1 10 

Hegira  of  Dowager  and  Educational  Edicts,  166-179 

Hepburn,  Dr.  J.  C.,  influence  of,  32,  35 

Hepburn,  Mrs.  J.  C.,  45 

Hsiang  Shih,  examination,  103 

Hsien  Shih,  examination,  102 

Higher  education  and  moral  problems,  51-62 

Higher  schools  : Japan,  74-76 

Colleges  of  America  compared,  74 
German  plans  in,  74 
Commoners  and  nobles,  74 
For  women,  47,  48 
History,  the  book  of,  148 
History  of  Japan,  Adams,  cited,  20 
Hollanders  and  Japanese  Education,  25 
Hongkong,  Education  in  : 1 7 3— 175 

Girls’  Central  School,  number  of  students,  Eurasians, 
etc.,  175 

Queen’s  College,  number  of  students,  tuition,  uneven- 
ness of  merit,  175 

Hospitals,  and  Japanese  Medical  Colleges,  35,  36 
Hsian  matriculation  examinations,  100,  IOI,  102 
Hsiang  Hsih,  examinations,  102 
Hundred  Years  of  Missions,  cited,  115 
Hui  Shih  examinations,  103 
Hyogaku,  or  Daimio  School,  21,  22 


I Ching,  Book  of  Changes,  147 
Ibuka,  President  K. : quoted,  29,  30 
Portrait  opposite,  61 
Writer  of  Introduction,  7 
Ieyasa,  Shogun  and  education,  18,  19 


Index 


24i 


Ignorance  in  families  and  villages,  16,  28 
Imperial  Rescript,  quoted,  54-56 
Imperial  University,  see  “ University  ” 

Independent,  the,  quoted,  84 

Inoye,  Count,  interview  quoted,  53 

Intercourse  of  the  United  States  and  Japan,  cited,  52 

Ishiguro,  Baron,  referred  to,  32 

Ito,  Marquis,  referred  to,  27, 

Quoted,  52 


Japan,  History  of,  see  “ Adams  ” 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  quoted,  197 
Jehovah’s  Awful  Throne,  sung  by  Perry,  25 
Japanese  Education,  see  “ Educational  System,”  “ Elementary,” 
“ Middle,”  “ Higher  Schools,”  etc. 

Japanese  Foreign  Commissioners,  27 
Japanese  abroad,  27,  28 
Japan  Mail,  cited,  38,  49,  54 


Kabayama,  Count,  published  order,  59,  60 
Kan  Chou  Fu,  a typical  literary  centre,  108-114 
K'ang  Hsi,  Emperor,  quoted,  143,  151,  152 
Kang  I,  198 

Kato,  President,  quoted,  33 

Kidder,  Miss,  referred  to,  46 

Kobe,  Girls’  College,  influence  of,  46 

Kokumin  no  Tomo,  cited,  33 

Kuang  Hsii,  Emperor  of  China,  20,  160-163 

Kuroda,  General,  advice  of,  45 


Lanning,  Dr.,  referred  to,  36 

Legge,  Dr.  James : quoted  in  the  Prolegomena  to  the  Ch'un 
Ch‘iu,  21 

In  Prolegomena  to  the  Shiking,  20 
Life  and  Times  of  Confucius,  144 
Leland,  Dr.,  referred  to,  30 
Library,  sacred,  of  Chinese  scholar,  144 
Life  and  Times  of  Confucius,  quoted,  144 
Life  of  Neesima,  Hardy,  cited,  33 
Li  Chi,  Book  of  Rites,  149 
Lii  Mountains,  over  the,  122 
Literature,  a Christian  force  in  China,  196,  208 
Literary  Chancellors,  101,  105,  106,  ill,  112,  113,  114,  167, 
169,  185 

Literary  centre,  a typical,  108-114 


242  Index 

Literati  in  China  : attitude  towards  modern  education,  164,  185, 
193,  194 
And  labor,  95 
400  beheaded,  96 
1,000  beheaded,  97 
Strugglers  against  Eunuch  party,  97 
Number  of,  101 
Power  of,  1 15-121 
Literatus:  what  he  knows,  152,  153 

What  he  does  not  know,  154,  155 
How  to  enter  his  mind,  155 
Longevity  of  China,  95,  115 

Lord  Elgin’s  mission  to  China  and  Japan,  cited,  26 
Lying  and  licentiousness,  Japan,  53 
Lyman,  B.  S.,  referred  to,  30 


Management  of  the  family,  the,  140,  141 
Manchus : absorption  by  Chinese,  116 
And  educational  system,  98 
School  for,  178. 

Mann,  Hon.  Horace,  quoted,  61,  62 
Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  : referred  to,  173,  178 
Quoted,  1 15,  1 16 

Mason,  Luther  W.,  referred  to,  30 
Mateer,  Dr.  C.  W. : an  educator,  173 
Quoted,  207 

Matthew  C.  Perry,  Griffis,  cited,  25 
Medical  education  : Hollander’s  skill,  24 
German  system,  32-37 
In  higher  schools,  69,  70,  74 

In  university,  comparative  status  of  colleges,  78,  79, 
80,  81 

Missionaries,  and,  35,  36 
Meiji  Era:  changes  during,  17 
Education  before,  17 
What  it  is,  17 
Mencius : his  work,  96 

Quoted,  129,  130,  131,  133,  134,  138,  139,  141,  142, 
146,  147 

Mendenhall,  Prof.  J.  C.,  referred  to,  30 

Metamorphosis  of  the  examination  system,  157-170 

Methodist,  Southern,  and  Tung  Wu  College,  172 

Middle  Ages,  learning  in,  17 

Middle  Schools,  see  Secondary  Schools 

Mikado’s  Empire,  Griffis,  cited,  18 

Miller,  R.  S.,  writer  of  “ Introduction,”  7,  8 


Index 


243 


Milne,  Rev.  Dr.,  quoted,  151,  152 

Mind  of  Mencius,  the,  Faber,  cited,  141,  142 

Ming  Emperors  and  education,  98 

Missionary,  an  American,  in  Japan,  cited,  44,  50,  53 

Missionary  teachers  and  woman’s  education,  45, 46 

Missions,  Encyclopedia  of,  cited,  22 

Missions,  medical,  see  Medical  Education 

Modern  learning,  to  impress  China,  155 

Mongols  and  Chinese  education,  98,  116 

Moral  Code  of  China,  lofty,  137 

Moral  problems,  and  higher  education,  51-62,  137 

Moral  training  of  the  princely  man,  137-143 

Morse,  Prof.  E.  S.,  referred  to,  30 

Mott,  John  R.,  quoted,  21 1,  212 

Murray,  Dr.  David,  referred  to,  30,  31 

Museum  of  Education,  founder,  30,  31 

Musical  education,  founded,  30 

Nagasaki  : Hollanders  at,  25 
Dr.  Verbeck  at,  31 
Nanking,  Examination  hall,  99,  IOO 
Nan  Yang  College:  founded,  179 
Free  education  in,  195 
Rebellion  of  students,  195 

Narrative  of  the  Visit  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin  to  China  and  Japan, 
Oliphant,  cited,  26 

Native  teachers,  67,  68,  69,  70,  193,  194,  206,  207 
Neesima,  Dr.  J.  H. : Educator,  reformer,  32 
Founder  of  Doshisha,  33,  34 
Quoted,  53 

New  England,  normal  education  in,  69,  70 
New  learning,  see  Educational  System 
Ningpo  riot : a,  1 18 
College,  183 

Nitobe,  quoted,  52,  see  Intercourse  of  United  States  and  Japan 
Normal  schools,  Japan : ages  of  teachers,  69 
Average  salary  of  teachers,  69 
Established,  20 

Expenditure  of,  see  appendix  table  6 
Great  importance  of,  67,  68 
Normal  and  other  teachers,  69,  table  No.  6 
Normal  schools  of  Germany,  Switzerland,  New  England, 
and  Japan,  70 

Women  in,  47,  see  appendix  tables,  6 and  7 
North  China  College,  172,  173 
North  China  Daily  News , cited,  168 


244  Index 

Odes,  Book  of : quoted  from,  142,  143 
Described,  148,  149 
For  children,  15 1 

Obligation  of  the  Church,  200-213 
Okuda,  Mr.,  quoted,  61 

Ordinary  middle  schools,  see  Secondary  Schools 
Outline  of  the  ancient  system,  95-107 


Patent  Rights  in  China,  162,  163 
Patriotism  of  students,  119,  120 
Perry,  Commodore  M.  C.,  diplomatic  success,  25,  26 
Pharmacopaeia,  German,  36 
Political  force  of  Confucian  education,  115-121 
Political  studies,  20,  115,  189 
Polygamy  in  China,  20,  142 
Pope,  quoted,  189 
Power  of  organization,  Chinese,  91 
Powhatan,  United  States  Cruiser,  27 
Poyang  Lake,  college  near,  122 
Primary  education  in  China,  95 
Studies,  134 

Prince  Kung’s  memorial,  158,  159 
Princely  man,  characteristics  of,  19,  138,  139 
Moral  training  of,  137-143 

Printing  houses  in  Shanghai,  Board  of  Rites  and,  169 
Problems  scholastic  and  religious,  189-213 
Professors,  foreign,  see  “ Foreign  ” 

Professors,  Christian,  need  of,  193,  194,  206,  207 
Prolegomena:  to  the  Ch'un  Ch‘iu,  cited,  21 
To  the  Shi  Ching,  cited,  20 
Protestant  missions  in  Japan,  history,  see  “ History  ” 
Pumelly,  Professor  A.,  referred  to,  30 


Queen’s  College,  Hongkong,  175 

Rangaku,  or  Dutch  learning,  24 
Recitation  system  unknown  in  examinations,  1 03 
Rein’s  Japan,  quoted,  40 
Reformers:  Emperor  at  head  of,  160 
Editorial  support,  165 
The  Dowager  Empress  as  a,  166,  167 
Religions  of  Japan,  Griffis,  cited,  18,  20 
Religious  liberty  : in  Japan,  59-61 
In  China,  210 

Religious  teaching  and  the  State,  200-202 


Index 


245 


Renaissance  and  reformation,  56 

Rescript,  imperial,  on  morals,  54-56 

Richard,  Rev.  Timothy,  183 

Richards,  Miss  L.  R.,  referred  to,  30 

Rites,  board  of  and  examinations,  99,  105,  168,  169 

Rites,  Book  of,  149 

Royal  sovereign  of  diffusion  of  right  principles,  98,  99 
Rungs  in  examination  ladder,  102,  103 
Rise  of  modern  colleges  in  China,  171-185 
Rutger’s  College,  Japanese  in,  27 


Sacred  Edict,  The,  15 1,  152 
Sage  as  a teacher,  the,  133,  134 
Samurai  and  Christianity,  58,  200 

Governing  class,  influence  in  state,  etc.,  22 
Schools,  see  Elementary  Schools,  Higher  Schools,  Secondary 
Schools,  etc 

Scholarship,  classical  ideals  of,  129-136 
Scholastic  and  religious  problems,  188-213 
Science  schools,  see  “ Technical  ” 

Scott,  Mr.  M.  M.,  referred  to,  30 
Secondary  schools,  72-74 
Courses  of  study,  72 
High  schools  of  America,  74 
Growth  of,  73 

Higher  schools,  see  High  Schools 
See  appendix  tables  10  and  11 
Secular  education  and  morals,  51-62,  137 
Seido,  temple  of,  52,  53 
Seward,  Hon.  W.  A.’s  policy,  29 
Shanghai : elementary  schools  in,  182 

Printing  houses,  overrun  with  orders,  169 
School  for  girls,  Chinese,  197,  198 
Taotai  set  at  naught,  119 
Sheffield,  Dr.  D.  Z.,  referred  to,  173 
Sheng  Kung  Pao,  his  excellency,  178 
Sheng,  Yu,  the,  digest  of,  15 1,  152 
Shih  Ching,  Book  of  Odes,  see  Odes 
Shimmi,  head  of  Japanese  commission,  27 
Shintoism,  united  with  Confucianism,  20,  21 
Shozan  Sakuma,  early  reformer,  24,  25 
Shansi,  Governor  of,  and  education,  182 
Shu  Ching,  Book  of  History,  cited,  96,  148 
Siam,  referred  to,  192 
Simmons,  Dr.,  referred  to,  35 

Smith,  Dr.  A.  H.,  writer  of  “ Introduction,”  quoted,  137 


Index 


246 

Smith,  A.  Tolman,  cited,  70 
Sophocles,  quoted,  213 
Soshi,  The,  political  thug,  53,  54 
Sources  of  the  new  learning,  29-39 
Speer,  Robert  E.,  quoted,  207 
Strong  hand  of  supervision,  43,  44 

Student’s  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  57,  201,  202, 
211,  212 

Students,  Colleges,  Educational  System,  Elementary  Schools 

Study  the  highest  pursuit,  95 

Summation  of  Japanese  section,  90,  91 

Supervision  of  examinations  in  China,  see  Examinations 

Switzerland,  Normal  schools,  70 

Systematical  Digest  of  the  Doctrines  of  Confucius,  Faber,  cited, 
19.  138 


Takagoshi,  Mr.,  quoted,  33 
Teachers,  the  sages  as,  133,  134 
Technical  education,  84-88 

Engineering  College  of  University,  advanced  work, 
courses,  etc.,  84 

Higher  commercial  school,  purpose,  courses,  students, 
84,  85 

Osaka  technical  school,  86,  88 

Technical  courses  in  all  branches  of  education,  88,  see 
appendix  table  14 

Telegraph  administration,  imperial,  and  education,  162 

Temples  to  be  turned  into  schools,  162 

Tenney,  Pres.  C.  D.,  referred  to,  173,  178 

Text-books,  problem  of,  196,  197 

Things  Japanese,  Chamberlain,  cited,  19,  44 

Thousand  Character  Classic,  15 1 

Thornicraft,  Dr.,  referred  to,  36 

Three  Character  Classic,  The,  15 1 

Tientsin:  treaty  of,  176,  210 

University,  178 
Tien  Shih  examination,  103 
Tokio  Times,  cited,  32 
Tokugawa  Shogunate,  Buddhism  and,  18 
Toleration,  religious,  in  China,  210 
Townsend  Harris,  Griffis,  cited,  25,  26 
Treaty  of  Tientsin,  and  education,  176,  210 
Treaties  opening  Japan,  25,  26 
Tung  Wu  College,  172,  182,  183 
Tutorship  of  United  States  in  Japan,  29 
Typical  literary  centre,  a,  108-1 14 


Index 


247 


Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan,  Bird,  cited,  40,  65 
United  States  and  China,  size  of,  115 
United  States  and  Japan,  cited,  see  Intercourse  of 
United  States  educational  reports,  cited,  64,  70 
United  States  educational  commission,  quoted,  157 
United  States : elementary  education,  64 
Philanthropy  of,  29 

United  States,  Japan  expedition,  cited,  25 
University:  Imperial  Chinese,  Peking,  178,  182 
Tientsin,  178 

Imperial  Japanese,  American  and  German  influence  on, 

3*>  35.  77.  78.  83 

Curriculum  in  Colleges  and  University  Hall,  81 
Degrees,  82 

Earnestness  of  students,  82 
Expenditure  by  colleges,  80 
Founder,  Dr.  Verbeck,  31,  77 
Graduates,  78,  79 

Library,  native  and  foreign  books,  80 
Students  for  various  years  and  colleges,  78,  79 
Students  from  all  classes  of  society,  83 
Technical  college,  85 
University  control,  78 

University  Hall,  78,  see  appendix  tables  12  and  13 

Verbeck  Dr.  G.  F.,  founder  of  educational  system,  of  Im- 
perial University,  Government’s  adviser,  lasting  influence, 
31,  32,  77,  191 

Vedder,  surgeon,  referred  to,  36 
Vice  and  education,  32,  53,  54,  61,  62 

Wen  Wang:  and  examination  system,  96 
Author,  147,  148 

Webster’s  Dictionary,  presented  to  the  Shogun,  25 

Weising  lottery  and  education,  162 

Wen  Chang  essay,  mentioned,  135 

Weng  T'ung  Ho,  cashiered,  163 

Wheeler,  Dr.,  referred  to,  35 

Whitney,  Dr.  W.  N.,  cited,  36,  37 

Women’s  position  according  to  Confucianism,  20,  95,  104,  142, 
143,  189 

Women’s  education  in  Japan : changes  status  of  women,  49,  50 
Criticisms  of,  49 
During  feudal  era,  44 
Elementary  schools,  54-56 
Emperor  and,  45 


248  Index 

Women’s  education  in  Japan : Empress  Haruku  and,  46 
General  Kuroda  and,  45 

Government  education  of  women,  growth  of,  44-50 

Higher  Female  Normal  School,  47 

Higher  female  schools,  48 

Ministers  of  State,  quoted,  49 

Missionary  education  and,  45,  46 

Peeresses’  school,  46 

The  Great  Learning  for  Women,  quoted,  44  see 
pendix  table  No.  3 
Woman’s  University  in  Japan,  83 
Woodbridge,  S.  I.,  quoted,  135 
Wu  Chang,  colleges  at,  177 
World’s  embassy,  Japanese,  27 
Wylie,  Alexander,  cited,  145 

Yankees  of  the  East,  Curtis,  cited,  85 

Yang  Ming’s  Shu  Yuan,  109 

Yih  Ching,  see  I Ching,  Book  of  Changes 

Yogaku,  referred  to,  22,  23 

Yoruzu  Choho,  cited,  32 

Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  57,  201,  202,  21 1,  212 
Yuan  Shih,  examination,  102 

Yuan  Shih  Kai  and  educational  measures,  180-182 
Yung  Cheng,  Emperor,  to  Han  Lin  Academy,  143 
Yung  Wing,  referred  to,  176 


Zalisky,  surgeon,  referred  to,  35 


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the  results  of  modern  research.  The  present  volume  is  limited 
to  a consideration  of  the  more  important  or  memorable  places — 
those  which  come  first  to  the  mind  of  the  general  Bible  reader. 
These  it  treats  generally  with  a more  pictorial  fulness.  The 
earlier  volume  is  a splendid  student’s  text  or  reference  book. 
The  present  is  a book  to  read. 

The  Land  of  Israel.  A text-book  em- 
bodying the  results  of  recent  research,  by 
the  Professor  of  Biblical  Archaeology  in 
Theolo.  Seminary  of  Lincoln  University, 
Pa.  Illustrated  with  maps.  I zmo,  cloth, 

$1.50. 

u The  book  is  thoroughly  up-to-date.  It  shows  wide  and 
thorongh  study  of  the  literature  of  exploration,  especially  that 
of  the  past  sixty  years.  . . . The  merits  of  this  volume  as 

a trustworthy  and  available  text-book  on  Palestinian  geography 
are  very  high.” — S.  S.  Times. 

41  It  is  a thorough,  comparative,  and  critical  reduction  of  the 
material  collected  by  all  the  explorers,  and  of  the  best  final  con- 
clusions which  have  been  established  by  their  combined  explor- 
ations. It  will  answer  the  purposes  of  the  general  student  better 
than  any  original  exploration  could.  It  presents  the  facts  which 
give  the  whole  geographical  study  its  importance  and  interest.” 
— Evangelist. 


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THE  WORKS  OF 
H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL 


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Impressionistic  personal  recollections  of  half-a-hundred 
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fifty  years  ago.  The  world  that  regards  the  missionary  simply 
as  a religious  teacher  needs  to  know  how  much  commerce, 
science,  scholarship,  literature,  and  in  fact  many  of  our  comforts 
of  life  owe  to  the  comprehensive  service  of  these  noble  heroes  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

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pels assent. ” — The  C.  E.  IVorld . 

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ELLIOT  ORIEFIS,  L.  H.  D. 


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The  name  of  Samuel 
Robbins  Brown  is  only 
too  little  known  by  the 
rising  generation  for  it 
must  ever  hold  an  impor- 
tant place  in  the  history, 
not  only  of  missions,  but 
of  general  progress. 
Brown  was  a pioneer  in 
the  instruction  of  the 
deaf  and  dumb,  and  also 
of  the  higher  education 
of  women  as  he  secured 
the  formation  of  the  first 
chartered  woman’s  college 
adopting  the  standards  of 
the  men’s  colleges.  He 
made  an  almost  faultless 
translation  of  the  NewTes- 
tament  into  Japanese — 
which  is  still  the  standard. 
He  stimulated  and 
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went  abroad  for  an  educa- 
tion. He  raised  up  many 
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work  in  his  spirit.  He 
thoroughly  understood  the 
Oriental  and  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  discoverer 
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existence — the  “gratitude 
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ica, China,  and  Japan. 


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book,  the  invaluable  and 
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portant features  of  the 
volume.” — Public  Opinion. 


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The  Works  of  Rev. 
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Christian 

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ces that  tingle  and  burn. 
Though  he  has  a crisp, 
fresh  way  of  saying  things 
he  nev.  r strives  for  effect, 
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TATiES  OF  THE  NORTH  BY 

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tive way  that  each  dog, 
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uHe  has  a happy  and 
often  amusingly  quaint 
way  of  describing  the  in- 
cidents and  surroundings 
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ful, almost  merry,  temper, 
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ing or  mastering  privations 
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DATE  DUE 


